HONG KONG: The father of a U.S.-based activist wanted by Hong Kong authorities was convicted Wednesday for attempting to deal with his daughter’s financial assets in the city, in the first court case of its kind brought under a homegrown national security law.
Kwok Yin-sang’s daughter Anna is the executive director of the Washington-based Hong Kong Democracy Council. Authorities in 2023 offered 1 million Hong Kong dollars (about $127,900) for information leading to her arrest and later banned anyone from handling any funds for her — widely seen as part of a yearlong crackdown on challenges against Beijing’s rule following the massive, anti-government protests in 2019.
Kwok, 69, was arrested in April 2025 under the security law, locally known as Article 23 legislation, enacted a year before. He was accused of having attempted to obtain funds from an insurance policy under his daughter’s name. He pleaded not guilty.
Acting principal magistrate Cheng Lim-chi found him guilty on Wednesday, saying Kwok must have known his daughter was an absconder and he was attempting to handle her assets.
According to previous hearings, Kwok bought the insurance policy for Anna when she was a toddler and she gained control of it when she reached 18 years old. The father in 2023 wanted to cancel the policy and get funds from it, the court heard.
Kwok’s lawyer, Steven Kwan, pleaded for a lesser sentence for his client, saying there was no evidence to show his client was trying to get the money to send to his daughter. He suggested the judge consider a 14-day prison term.
While the maximum sentence for his charge is seven years of imprisonment, but his case was heard at the magistrates’ courts, which normally hands down a maximum sentence of two years.
His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 26.
Authorities have accused Anna Kwok of demanding for foreign sanctions, blockade and engaging in other hostile activities against China and Hong Kong through meeting foreign politicians and government officials.
