Hong Kong convicts father of wanted activist over handling of funds

Authorities in the Chinese finance hub have vowed to pursue overseas "fugitives" accused of endangering national security and have issued bounties on 34 people so far, moves decried by some Western countries as transnational repression.

Hong Kong placed a HK$1 million ($128,000) bounty on overseas pro-democracy advocate Anna Kwok in 2023, and later made it a crime for anyone to deal with an absconder's funds or other financial assets.

Her father Kwok Yin-sang, 69, was found guilty on Wednesday of attempting to withdraw a balance of around $11,000 by terminating an insurance policy he bought for his daughter when she was an infant.

He was the first person charged for this offence and pleaded not guilty at trial.

Acting Principal Magistrate Cheng Lim-chi said the defendant clearly knew that his daughter was an absconder and that the insurance policy met the legal definition of funds that belonged to her.

Human Rights Watch called the verdict "cruel and vindictive", as well as an "alarming act of collective punishment".

Joey Siu, spokeswoman for Amnesty International Hong Kong Overseas, said the ruling was a "disturbing escalation" in the city's use of its homegrown national security law, passed in 2024 after similar legislation was imposed by Beijing from 2020.

Kwok was remanded in custody pending sentencing on February 26.

Defence lawyer Steven Kwan argued that the level of criminal culpability was low, and that the money did not end up supporting activities that endanger national security.

The magistrate can hand out jail terms of up to two years.