Hong Kong woman earlier arrested under domestic national security law suspected of another offence over helping fugitive Nathan Law
- National Security Department says woman arrested on Wednesday for allegedly committing sedition also suspected of providing financial support to wanted activist in Britain
- Suspect accused of supporting fugitive Nathan Law with money and other individuals through online subscription platform
A spokesman for the force’s National Security Department said on Friday that the woman was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly committing sedition under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
He added she was now also suspected of involvement in another offence.
“Investigation revealed that she supported fugitive Law Kwun-chung with money and other individuals through an online subscription platform, with the amount of funding amounting to approximately HK$140,000 [US$18,000] ,” the spokesman said.
Such support would amount to violation of section 21 of the national security law by “providing pecuniary or other financial assistance or property” for another person to commit secession.
The national security law, imposed on the city by Beijing four years ago, criminalises secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
According to police, the suspect in question was the seventh arrestee in a sedition case concerning Facebook posts related to the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
The seven suspects were accused of using the social media platform from April to “exploit an upcoming sensitive date” and repeatedly publishing posts to “provoke hatred” towards local and central authorities.
A source familiar with the matter had told the Post the woman was the wife of activist Kwan Chun-pong, who was suspected to have links with the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. This group had previously organised June 4 vigils at Victoria Park to mark the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Among the six remaining arrestees in the case were activist Chow Hang-tung, who is currently remanded at the Tai Lam Centre for Women, as well as her mother, Medina Chow Lau Wah-chun.
Chow is the former vice-chairwoman of the alliance.
Five women and a man arrested in connection with the sedition case have been granted bail.
Last year, national security police rounded up four former members of the now-defunct Demosisto political party for allegedly raising funds to support Law, who is now living in self-exile in Britain and is among eight people with HK$1 million bounties on their heads for alleged national security offences.
The four suspects were ex-Demosisto leader Ivan Lam Long-yin and three former members, William Liu Wai-lim, Li Kai-ching and Arnold Chung Chin-ku.
They were arrested for allegedly conspiring to collude with a foreign country or external forces and commit acts with seditious intent, under suspicions of receiving funds to support Law and publishing posts that provoked hatred towards authorities and advocated “Hong Kong independence”.
Law, a former founder of Demosisto, has been wanted by the Hong Kong government since last July for “serious crimes” against national security and calling for sanctions on city officials.
Alongside Law, former legislators Dennis Kwok Wing-hang and Ted Hui Chi-fung, unionist Mung Siu-tat, lawyer Kevin Yam Kin-fung, and activists Finn Lau Cho-dik, Anna Kwok Fung-yee and Elmer Yuan Gong-yi were also put under a HK$1 million bounty.
