Ask Onix
Father of exiled activist sentenced to eight months
Kwok Yin-sang, 69, became the first relative of a wanted Hong Kong activist abroad to be imprisoned under the city's national security laws after a court convicted him of mishandling his daughter's finances.
Case details
Kwok was found guilty on 11 February in West Kowloon Magistrates' Court of violating Article 23, a local security statute that broadens the scope of Beijing's 2020 national security law. Prosecutors alleged he attempted to access approximately HK$86,000 (US$11,000; £8,000) from an insurance policy originally purchased for his daughter, Anna Kwok, when she was a child.
Defence lawyers argued the policy remained under Kwok's name, but the court ruled that Anna automatically became the policyholder upon reaching adulthood.
Daughter's reaction
Anna Kwok, now 29 and based in the United States, told the BBC before the sentencing that her father's prosecution was intended to stifle her overseas advocacy. She serves as executive director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council, a U.S.-based advocacy group.
"My father's case really shows how political freedoms is reaching a new low in Hong Kong. And how the Hong Kong government, learning from Beijing, is committed to repress any sort of freedoms or any sort of campaign Hong Kongers dare to wage."
Anna Kwok, activist
Broader crackdown
Anna Kwok is among 34 activists sought by Hong Kong's national security police, accused of colluding with foreign forces. Authorities have placed a HK$1 million (US$128,000; £94,000) bounty on her arrest. Her brother was also detained last year on similar suspicions but was not charged.
Hong Kong officials maintain that law enforcement actions are politically neutral. In a statement to the BBC, the government said it "has the responsibility to pursue those who are suspected to have committed offences endangering national security, even if they have absconded overseas."
Legal context
Article 23, enacted in March 2024, targets offences such as treason, secession, and sedition. Authorities describe it as essential for stability, while critics argue it is used to suppress dissent. This case marks the first time a family member of an overseas activist has been jailed under the expanded security framework.
