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A Hong Kong court sentenced the father of a U.S.-based activist to eight months in prison Thursday for attempting to withdraw some funds from his daughter’s insurance policy, in the first case against a family member of a pro-democracy advocate wanted by the city’s authorities brought under a national security law.
Kwok Yin-sang, 69, was found guilty earlier this month of attempting to deal with financial assets belonging to an “absconder” under the 2024 security law, locally known as Article 23 legislation. His daughter Anna Kwok, who is the executive director of the Washington-based Hong Kong Democracy Council, slammed his conviction as “transnational repression.”
Authorities have offered 1 million Hong Kong dollars (about $127,900) for information leading to the younger Kwok’s arrest and later banned anyone from handling any funds for her. She is among 34 people targeted by police bounties, widely seen as part of a crackdown on dissent following the massive, anti-government protests in 2019.
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Anna Kwok said in an Instagram post that sentencing her father under the pretext that his actions lowered the likelihood of her return to stand trial is a judicial farce. She insisted she was not the owner of the insurance policy.
“My father was convicted and sentenced under the guise of ‘national security’ ... this is guilt by blood, this is hostage taking,” she said.
The older Kwok bought an insurance policy for his daughter when she was a toddler, and she gained control of it when she reached the age of 18. In 2025, the father sought to terminate the policy and withdraw funds amounting to roughly $11,000, the court heard. He was arrested the same year for allegedly attempting to deal with funds belonging to an “absconder.”
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Hong Kong police have issued bounties for other overseas-based Hong Kong activists, including pro-democracy former lawmakers Nathan Law and Ted Hui. The U.S. and the U.K. governments have condemned the bounties.
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