Hong Kong Court Convicts Father of Overseas Activist Under National Security Law
Key Facts
- Kwok Yin-sang, 69, was convicted on Wednesday for attempting to deal with an absconder's financial assets.
- This is the first conviction under the Article 23 national security law enacted in 2024.
- The assets involved an insurance policy worth HK$88,609 ($11,342).
- Anna Kwok is the subject of a HK$1 million bounty and is accused of requesting foreign sanctions against Hong Kong.
- The defense argued there was no evidence the funds were intended for the daughter and requested a 14-day sentence.
- Magistrate Cheng Lim-chi presided over the case.
A Hong Kong magistrate convicted the father of a U.S.-based activist on Wednesday for attempting to handle his daughter's financial assets, marking the first conviction under the city's homegrown national security law. Kwok Yin-sang, 69, was found guilty of attempting to deal with the assets of an "absconder" after trying to cancel an insurance policy worth HK$88,609 ($11,342) that he had purchased for his daughter, Anna Kwok, when she was a toddler. Anna Kwok is the executive director of the Washington-based Hong Kong Democracy Council and is one of 34 overseas activists wanted by Hong Kong authorities, who have placed a HK$1 million bounty on her.
Acting principal magistrate Cheng Lim-chi ruled that Kwok must have known his daughter was a fugitive and that handling her assets was illegal under the Article 23 legislation enacted in 2024. Kwok had pleaded not guilty, with his defense arguing that the prosecution was "based on family ties" and that there was no evidence he intended to send the funds to his daughter. While the charge carries a maximum sentence of seven years, the case was heard in a magistrates' court where the maximum penalty is typically two years.
The conviction has drawn criticism from international advocacy groups, including Amnesty International, which characterized the ruling as "politically motivated." The defense has requested a 14-day prison term, noting that Kwok was the original purchaser of the policy. The court previously heard that Anna Kwok gained control of the policy when she reached 18 years old, but her father attempted to cancel it in 2025 because she was no longer in Hong Kong.
Historical Context
The case follows a yearslong crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong after anti-government protests in 2019. In 2020, Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law, followed by the local Article 23 legislation in 2024 to address what officials termed "loopholes" in the security regime. The U.S. and U.K. have criticized the use of bounties against overseas activists, leading to reciprocal sanctions between Washington and Beijing in 2025 involving officials and NGO leaders.
Perspective Analysis
Sources: The Guardian · South China Morning Post · New York Times · NPR
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