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National security law: can supporters of legal defence fund for Hong Kong protesters be prosecuted for donations? It depends, legal experts say
- Scholars say the question revolves around whether the fund itself broke the law, as well as donors’ intent in contributing
- Police first revealed on Wednesday that they were investigating 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which attracts some 2,500 donors a month
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Whether supporters of a legal defence fund for Hong Kong protesters – currently under investigation on national security grounds – can be held criminally liable for their donations depends in part on how they intended the money to be spent, experts say.
The police force first revealed on Wednesday that its National Security Department was investigating the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund and the Alliance for True Democracy, which had provided its bank account to the fund’s trustees for holding donations.
Questions immediately rose as to whether those who had donated to the fund – aimed at providing financial aid to protesters facing prosecution over the 2019 anti-government unrest – might also find themselves in the authorities’ cross hairs.
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According to the fund’s annual report for 2021, some 2,500 people donated to it every month.
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First person convicted under Hong Kong’s national security law jailed for 9 years
First person convicted under Hong Kong’s national security law jailed for 9 years
University of Hong Kong legal scholar Simon Young Ngai-man, who specialises in national security law, said the question of liability revolved around whether the fund itself had broken the law.
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