Hong Kong protests: Civil Human Rights Front refuses to cooperate with police investigation into its activities
- Group convenor says ‘on principle’ it will not answer questions from police about its finances, operations and legal basis, which lawyers say could heighten ban risk
- Front’s future is uncertain amid a police investigation; force is awaiting official response before weighing next step
A prominent Hong Kong opposition group best known for organising mass protests told police on Tuesday it would not cooperate with a force investigation into its legality and activities, a stance lawyers said could make an outright ban more likely.
The future of the Civil Human Rights Front has been hanging in the balance since police informed the organisation last Monday it was subject to a probe into its finances and the failure to register with the government under the Societies Ordinance.
Police have given the front until Wednesday to provide information on its funding, expenses and related bank accounts.
The force has also demanded an explanation for the organisation’s participation in a joint declaration to the United Nations last December, a move which pro-establishment figures said might have violated the national security law.
Formed in 2002, the front was the driving force behind the following year’s July 1 march which drew hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers to protest against a national security bill that was later shelved. It was also behind several massive anti-government demonstrations in 2019.
Breaking the group’s silence on the investigation, its convenor said police had been communicating with members for many years without raising any issues.
“Following the July 1 march in 2013, then chief executive Leung Chun-ying even referred to the Civil Human Rights Fronts as ‘friends’,” Figo Chan Ho-wun said.