(Washington–Hong Kong, December 22, 2025) Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Anna Kwok Fung-yee, who is living in exile in the United States, said that criminal charges brought by Hong Kong authorities against her family mark the first explicit use of kinship ties as a means of pressure to curb overseas advocacy activities. Closing arguments in the related case are expected to conclude this week.
Anna Kwok Fung-yee, 28, has been active in Washington in recent years, engaging in lobbying efforts to promote international sanctions against Hong Kong officials. She is wanted by Hong Kong police’s National Security Department on suspicion of violating the Hong Kong National Security Law under the charge of “collusion with foreign or external forces to endanger national security,” and her Hong Kong SAR passport was revoked at the end of 2024.
In April this year, Hong Kong police arrested Anna Kwok Fung-yee’s father, and one of her brothers on suspicion of violating Article 23 of the Basic Law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. Prosecutors accused Mr. Kwok of “attempting to deal with the property of a fugitive,” alleging that he tried to dispose of insurance funds held in Anna Kwok Fung-yee’s name. The father was denied bail and remains in custody awaiting trial, while his son was granted bail pending further investigation.
Anna Kwok Fung-yee said on social media that the case has left her unable to have any direct or indirect contact with her father. She wrote that she can only learn about the condition of her 68-year-old father through news reports or photos leaked from outside the courtroom. “That is the only window through which I can understand his current situation,” she wrote.
Hong Kong police have previously investigated Anna Kwok Fung-yee’s family on multiple occasions. In August 2023, police took her parents and two brothers away for questioning. In July of the same year, Anna Kwok Fung-yee was placed on the police National Security Department’s wanted list with a HK$1 million bounty. In December 2024, the Hong Kong government officially announced the revocation of her passport in the Government Gazette.
Public information shows that in recent years Anna Kwok Fung-yee has promoted a number of sanctions measures against Hong Kong officials and institutions in the United States, including efforts that led the U.S. Treasury Department to impose sanctions on some senior Hong Kong officials. The Hong Kong government has repeatedly criticized these lobbying activities, saying they undermine national security and Hong Kong’s interests.
In a brief statement, Anna Kwok Fung-yee said that despite the pressure, she will continue her advocacy work and thanked the international community, government bodies, and civil society groups for their support. She did not comment further on the specific legal charges in the case.
As the case enters a critical stage, it is widely seen as the latest example of the expanding reach of Hong Kong’s national security laws, once again drawing international attention to their extraterritorial effects and their impact on the families of dissidents.
(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai for ChinaAid)
