Hong Kong police arrest democracy activist for subversion

Police in Hong Kong on Tuesday arrested a veteran pro-democracy activist who was already on bail for separate charges under the recently imposed national security law.

Albert Ho, the 71-year-old lawyer who ran the Hong Kong Alliance before it was shut down, was arrested in his home for allegedly interfering with witnesses.

Ho was on bail while facing charges of "incitement to subversion" which could land him with a jail sentence of up to 10 years.

Beijing has carried out a major crackdown on dissent and pro-democracy advocates following widespread protests against the national security law.

Why was Albert Ho on bail?

Ho's Hong Kong Alliance was responsible for organizing the annual candlelight vigils in memory of the victims of the violence carried out by Chinese security forces in Tiananmen Square in 1989 for over thirty years.

The vigil was banned in 2020 due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and was fully outlawed in 2021 in line with the national security law.

Three more of its former organizers were also arrested earlier this month.

Ho was detained for almost a year for the charges of inciting subversion but was released on bail last August amid reports that he required medical treatment for lung cancer.

His bail was granted on the condition that he does not say or do anything that could threaten national security, with the judge telling him that otherwise "his bail will be revoked and he won't be able to receive any kind of private medical care."

Beijing's ongoing suppression

Albert Ho's brother Fred Ho was also this month after representing labor rights activist Elizabeth Tang Yin-Ngor who was detained briefly on suspicion of "colluding with foreign forces."

Fred Ho has also since been released on bail.

Hong Kong only became part of China in 1997 after being released as a British colony. The financial hub was integrated under a policy of "one country, two systems" which granted the city a high degree of autonomy.

The imposition of the national security law in 2020 and the crackdown on protesters — as well as the arrest of numerous high-profile pro-democracy activists — has led to criticism that Beijing is rolling back the freedoms that Hong Kong has until recently enjoyed.

For its part, Beijing, and pro-Beijing authorities within Hong Kong, say that foreign interference is destabilizing the city's status and prosperity.

ab/es (AFP, Reuters)