Two men have been arrested by Hong Kong national security police over links to a defunct protester fund.
Tuesday’s arrests marked the latest in a series of moves against people connected to the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which assisted protestors involved in the 2019 protests and unrest.
The two men, aged 33 and 59, were arrested in Tai Po district. The police said in a press release that both were suspected of “conspiracy to collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security” under the national security law and “conspiracy to incite others to commit riot.”
Investigations revealed that the men were suspected of conspiring to collude with the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund to support “people who have fled overseas or organisations which called for sanctions against Hong Kong,” police added.
According to local media reports, police from the National Security Department raided the homes of both men and another suspect linked to the case on Tuesday.
“Some related computers, electronic communication devices and exhibits fit for unlawful purpose were seized, ” the police said, adding that the two men had been detained for further enquiries.
Earlier this month, 10 people related to the fund were arrested. Police said they were also suspected of “conspiring to collude with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security” and inciting a riot.
Among the 10, aged 26 to 43, were former staff of the defunct fund and also members related to a group that offered medical services to protestors, local media reported.
Charges after dissolution
The 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund ceased operations on October 31, 2021.
Established by prominent pro-democracy figures in June 2019, the fund provided thousands of protesters with funds for medical aid, psychological counselling, legal advice and emergency financial relief. It also provided loans for bail money for arrested protesters.
Since the fund’s dissolution, several arrests and charges have followed for those linked to it. Last May, the funds trustees – Cardinal Joseph Zen, singer Denise Ho, ex-lawmaker Cyd Ho, scholar Hui Po-keung, and barrister Margaret Ng – were arrested by national security police. They were accused of conspiring to collude with foreign powers, an offence under the Beijing-imposed national security law.
The five were released on bail and no charges have so far been laid.
However, two weeks following the arrests, the five trustees and Sze Ching-wee, the former secretary of the fund, were arrested and charged over failing to register the fund as a society under the Societies Ordinance.
The six were convicted of this charge, and ordered to pay fines of up to HK$4,000.
Protests erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.”
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