Hong Kong Watch condemns guilty verdict in the trial of Anna Kwok’s father

Hong Kong Watch strongly condemns the guilty verdict in the trial of Kwok Yin-sang, the father of US-based bountied activist Anna Kwok. 

Mr. Kwok was arrested by National Security Police in Hong Kong on 30 April 2025, on suspicion of handling funds or other financial assets belonging to an ‘absconder’, the Hong Kong government’s term for activists driven into exile by the national security crackdown in Hong Kong. Anna Kwok’s brother was arrested at the same time. 

The elder Mr. Kwok was charged over an alleged attempt to obtain funds from an AIA International life and personal accident insurance policy that belonged to Anna Kwok. This makes him the first family member of an exiled activist to be prosecuted under the Safeguarding National Security Act (SNSO), Hong Kong’s domestic national security law passed in 2024. 

Following the guilty verdict, Mr. Kwok faces up to seven years’ imprisonment under the SNSO. Anna Kwok, who is now based in Washington, DC, had a HK$1 million (£93,431) bounty placed on her head by the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) in 2023.  

Ray Wong, Policy and Strategy Advisor at Hong Kong Watch, commented: 

“With a growing number of pro-democracy activists forced to seek safe refuge overseas, the Hong Kong government has turned to the persecution of their family members. This is a common tactic used by the Chinese Communist Party on the Mainland, and just further illustrates the convergence in repressive police tactics between Hong Kong and Mainland China.” 

Ambassador Derek Mitchell, former President of the National Democratic Institute and US Patron of Hong Kong Watch, commented: 

“It is with full knowledge that the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance holds no legitimate authority outside Hong Kong, that the Hong Kong government has turned to targeting the family members of overseas activists. The verdict of Anna Kwok’s father is an alarming new low for the state of rule of law under the new regime in Hong Kong, and the US government must exert pressure to repeal this repressive legislation.” 

Ambassador Sam Brownback, former United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom and US Patron of Hong Kong Watch, commented:

“The verdict today is a clear example of Hong Kong authorities attempting to silence overseas dissidents through collective punishment. The persecution of family members of US-based pro-democracy activists like Anna Kwok should appall any democracy that champions the value of the rule of law. The US government must shield its residents from these tactics of intimidation and transnational repression.”

郭鳯儀父親「處理潛逃者資金」罪成 香港監察譴責港府跨國鎮壓 呼籲美國施壓廢除惡法

香港監察強烈譴責居美社運人士郭鳯儀父親郭賢生案件的罪成裁決。

郭父在2025年4月30日因「處理屬於有關潛逃者的資金」罪被香港警方國安處拘捕。香港政府以「潛逃者」稱呼因香港國安打壓而被迫流亡海外的社運人士。當時郭鳯儀的兄長同樣被捕。

郭父被控試圖從郭鳯儀名下的友邦國際人壽及個人意外保險保單提取款項。這是自2024年《維護國家安全條例》（俗稱23條）通過以來，首宗引用23條起訴流亡社運人士家人的案例。

郭父現被裁定23條罪成，最高可被判處七年監禁。現居美國華盛頓的郭鳯儀在2023年被香港警方懸紅100萬港元通緝。

香港監察政策及策略顧問黃台仰（Ray Wong）表示：

「隨着愈來愈多民主活動人士被迫到海外尋求安全庇護，香港政府開始改為迫害他們的家人。這是中國共產黨在中國大陸常用的伎倆，進一步印證香港與中國大陸在警察鎮壓策略上愈趨一致。」

前美國國際民主協會會長、美國香港監察贊助人Derek Mitchell表示：

「香港政府深知《維護國家安全條例》在香港以外地區不具任何法律效力，因而將矛頭指向海外活動人士的家屬。郭鳯儀父親的裁決標誌着香港在新政權下，法治跌至驚人新低。美國政府必須施壓，迫使港府廢除這項高壓惡法。」

前美國國際宗教自由事務無任所大使、美國香港監察贊助人Sam Brownback表示：

「今天的裁決清楚表明，香港政府正試圖透過連坐懲罰來壓制海外異見人士。針對郭鳯儀等居美民主活動人士家人的迫害，理應令任何主張法治的民主國家感到震驚。美國政府必須保護其居民免受這些恐嚇和跨國鎮壓手段威脅。」

Photo: Scotted400, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons