Hong Kong police arrest family of pro-democracy activist, reports say

Police successful Hong Kong person arrested the begetter and member of US-based pro-democracy activistic Anna Kwok for allegedly helping with her finances, according to media reports.

It is the archetypal clip the relatives of an "absconder" person been charged nether the territory's information law, Reuters quality bureau said.

The authorities accused Ms Kwok, 26, of breaching Hong Kong's nationalist information laws aft participating successful pro-democracy protests successful 2019.

She fled the territory successful 2020 and present serves arsenic the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC), an organisation based successful Washington DC.

Police said they had arrested 2 men aged 35 and 68 connected suspicion of handling "funds oregon different fiscal assets" belonging to Kwok, Reuters said.

Local media aboriginal identified the 2 men arsenic relatives of Ms Kwok, citing constabulary sources.

According to a study by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), constabulary launched an probe into the brace aft observing they had met Ms Kwok overseas.

The 68-year-old, identified by section media arsenic Ms Kwok's begetter Kwok Yin-sang, is accused of helping his girl grip her security argumentation upon his instrumentality to Hong Kong.

According to a complaint expanse seen by Reuters, Kwok Yin-sang had been trying to entree Ms Kwok's beingness and idiosyncratic mishap security argumentation which could beryllium utilized to get funds connected her behalf.

He has been denied bail by nationalist information justice Victor So astatine the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts, Reuters reported.

The 35-year-old man, identified by section media arsenic Ms Kwok's brother, is accused of supporting their father's attempts to retrieve the money, Reuters said.

He has reportedly been released connected bail pending further investigation.

In 2023, Hong Kong placed a bounty connected the heads of respective pro-democracy activists - including Ms Kwok - who had fled the territory.

The 8 activists targeted were accused of colluding with overseas forces - a transgression that tin transportation a condemnation of beingness successful prison.

At the time, Ms Kwok said the bounty was aimed astatine intimidating her and her chap activists.

"That's precisely the benignant of happening the Hong Kong authorities and the Chinese Communist enactment would bash - which is to intimidate radical into not doing anything, silencing them," she told BBC's Newshour astatine the time.

The former British colony became a peculiar administrative portion of China successful 1997, erstwhile Britain's 99-year lease of the New Territories, northbound of Hong Kong island, expired.

Hong Kong inactive enjoys freedoms not seen successful mainland China, but they are wide thought to beryllium connected the decline.