Kwok Sentenced Under Article 23

On Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, a Hong Kong court used its national security law to sentence 69-year-old Kwok Yin-sang to eight months in prison. This is the first time Hong Kong has imprisoned a family member due to their connection with relatives’ overseas lobbying.

Hong Kong Case

On Feb. 11, Kwok Yin-sang was convicted of “attempting to deal with, directly or indirectly, any funds or other financial assets or economic resources belonging to an absconder.” His daughter Anna Kwok, 29, is one of two dozen activists overseas wanted by authorities in Hong Kong. A bounty has been issued for her arrest. She is accused of colluding with foreign forces.

Prosecutors argued Yin-sang committed a crime when he attempted to withdraw funds from an education savings insurance policy he purchased for Anna when she was two years old. Under Article 23, providing any type of financial support to “absconders” is a criminal offense.

In an interview with NPR, Anna said the charge was “ridiculous” because she never took control of the insurance policy, signed any paperwork, or communicated about benefiting financially.

She said, “The Hong Kong courts are constructing a storyline that is essentially using legalese to put my dad in jail, just to target me.”

Eric Lai, senior fellow at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law says Article 23 is “punishing peaceful advocates and their affiliates mainly because of … political orientation should never be accepted in civilized and rights-respecting jurisdiction at all.”

David Tobin, a lecturer in East Asian Studies at the University of Sheffield in England says these tactics have been used by the Communist Party by monitoring the entire family over the individual.

He says “it deters anyone who doesn’t have the social capital, [foreign] citizenship and finances, and who cannot protect themselves.”

Article 23

Magistrate Andy Cheng said this is a serious case that had nothing to do with family ties.

“There is no such thing as … collective punishment, and it has absolutely nothing to do with whether the defendant and the fugitive are family,” he said.

Anna is one of 34 people targeted by police bounties as part of a crackdown on dissent following 2019 protests. She is accused of demanding foreign sanctions, blockade and engaging in hostile activities against China and Hong Kong during meetings with foreign politicians and officials.

Anna Kwok

Anna lived in Washington and is the executive director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC), a lobbyist group raising issues such as the political plight of political prisoners and ongoing abuses of human rights in Hong Kong.

She became a named activist after Article 23 was enacted to show others they did not have to back down. In 2019, residents of Hong Kong took a stand against Beijing’s encroachment. Anna joined them as an anonymous activist lobbying behind the scenes.

Anna has been cut-off from her family since 2023 when Hong Kong authorities opened investigations. She relies on public reporting to guess how her father is doing.

She says the experience has “prompted deep introspection on the sacrifices that come with a life of activism — and has recommitted her to advocacy work.”

“They want to use this as a way to silence everyone, as a way to intimidate everyone into not doing anything [and] forgetting about Hong Kong. I do see it as my role to show people that you can sill move forward.”

Sources:

NPR: Father of U.S.-based activist sentenced in Hong Kong under national security law
AP News: The father of a US-based Hong Kong activist is sentenced to 8 months under national security law
CNN: Hong Kong court jails father of US-based democracy activist under national security law

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