U.S.–China Relations and Sanctions

A Hong Kong court has convicted 69-year-old Kwok Yin-sang, father of Washington-based activist Anna Kwok, of attempting to deal with an absconder’s financial assets under the city’s homegrown Article 23 national security law, in the first case of its kind. Prosecutors said he tried in 2025 to cancel an insurance policy he had bought for his daughter and access the funds after authorities had labeled her an 'absconder,' placed a HK$1 million bounty on her, and banned anyone from handling her assets because of her advocacy in the U.S. The magistrate ruled Kwok must have known his daughter was an absconder and was attempting to handle her assets; he pleaded not guilty and faces up to two years in jail in magistrates’ court, with sentencing set for Feb. 26. The Washington-based Hong Kong Democracy Council called the verdict 'another escalation of transnational repression,' while Amnesty International said the case appears politically motivated and is meant to intimidate overseas activists by targeting their families. The conviction comes after the U.S. sanctioned six Chinese and Hong Kong officials in 2025 over alleged extraterritorial use of national‑security laws, and China responded with its own sanctions on U.S. officials and NGO leaders, underscoring how Beijing’s approach to Hong Kong dissent is now a live issue in U.S.–China relations.