Hong Kong’s national security police raided the homes of relatives of two exiled activists this week, stepping up pressure on the dissidents who have HK$1m (£99,500) bounties on them.
The elder brother of Dennis Kwok, a former legislator, was taken away for questioning by police in Hong Kong on Thursday, according to the South China Morning Post. The brother was summoned along with another man and two women, whose identities could not be determined.
A spokesperson for Hong Kong police said: “Relevant operations are still ongoing, and other law enforcement actions, including arrests, cannot be ruled out. Police actions will be handled according to the actual situation and in accordance with the law.”
On Tuesday, relatives of Christopher Mung, a UK-based trade unionist who left Hong Kong last year, were taken away for questioning. Mung’s brother was questioned before being released without arrest, along with the brother’s wife and son.
The police spokesperson said the questioning on Tuesday related to suspicion of “assisting the fugitives to continue to engage in acts that endanger national security”.
In recent weeks Hong Kong’s national security police, an outfit formed in 2020 as part of Beijing’s crackdown on dissent in the city, have increased their efforts to circle in on family members of overseas activists. Last week, the police raided the home of the parents of Nathan Law, taking them and his brother away for questioning. No arrests were made.
Law, a former legislator, is one of Hong Kong’s most high-profile pro-democracy activists and has been in the UK since 2020, where he has been granted asylum. When he left Hong Kong he said he had cut off contact with his family.
Kwok, Mung and Law are among eight activists who were issued with arrest warrants this month, accused of breaking Hong Kong’s national security law while in exile. Police offered a reward of HK$1m per person for information from the public, a far higher bounty than for wanted murderers and rapists.
The activists are all based in western countries including the UK, US and Australia. The arrest warrants were widely condemned by western politicians.
Police have also visited the family members of other Hong Kong activists. Glacier Kwong, the former spokesperson for Keyboard Frontline, an NGO, has said police have summoned her family members twice for questioning. Kwong is now based in Germany.
Maya Wang, the associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: “It is alarming that the Hong Kong government has now adopted Beijing’s thuggish tactics of harassing families in an attempt to silence and intimidate exiled activists and the Hong Kong diaspora.
“This fresh wave of crackdown in Hong Kong should remind concerned governments that they need to escalate efforts to hold the Chinese government accountable for the growing repression in Hong Kong, such as by imposing coordinated and targeted sanctions on responsible officials.”
Kwok, who is now based in the US, could not be reached for comment. Mung did not respond to a request for comment.
