Hong Kong (AsiaNews) – The Hong Kong Court of Appeal today dismissed the appeal lodged by Cardinal Joseph Zen, lawyer and former MP Margaret Ng, former MP Cyd Ho, academic Hui Po-keung and singer and activist Denise Ho – all former trustees of the now-dissolved 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which was set up in 2019 to provide assistance to protesters involved in the demonstrations that brought thousands of people onto the streets in opposition to the extradition bill.
Today’s verdict comes on top of others in recent days involving prominent figures from the pro-democracy movement such as Joshua Wong, Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung.
As you may recall, in May 2022, Cardinal Zen and the other four defendants were even arrested for a few hours on charges of collusion with foreign forces.
The immediate outcry over the news had led the Hong Kong authorities to release them swiftly and drop this charge. However, the five in November 2022 still stood trial at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court for failing to register the fund as an association under the Societies Ordinance, the legislation governing organisations and associations in the city. Each was fined approximately 4,000 Hong Kong dollars (less than 500 euros).
Founded in June 2019, the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund provided financial support to protesters who had been arrested or injured during the protest movement against the proposed bill on the extradition of detainees from Hong Kong to China. The protests, which began in June 2019 – initially linked to this single piece of legislation, which was subsequently withdrawn – evolved into a broader pro-democracy movement, also marked by clashes and allegations regarding police conduct. Among other things, the protesters were calling for an independent inquiry into the actions of the police, amnesty for those arrested, and the withdrawal of the characterisation of the protests as ‘riots’.
The Societies Ordinance stipulates that a society must be registered, or must apply for an exemption, within one month of its formation. The proceedings against the trustees of the 612 Fund represent the first-ever prosecution for this type of regulatory breach in Hong Kong.
Following the first-instance conviction, Cardinal Zen – who had been chosen by the organisers as one of the guarantors precisely because of the high regard in which he was held by Hong Kong’s civil society – together with the other four defendants, lodged an appeal, contesting the erroneous characterisation of the fund’s legal status.
The five argued that the 612 Fund had been established as a trust, and not as a company or association, and that the trial court’s decision could have much wider implications for freedom of association in Hong Kong. Treating virtually any group of people who come together to carry out an activity as a ‘company’ would have imposed potentially very extensive registration obligations.
However, three judges of the Court of Appeal today upheld the lower court’s decision, ruling that the 612 Fund was to be regarded as a company under the law and that, consequently, it should have either applied for registration or sought an exemption. In the judgement, Chief Judge Jeremy Poon wrote that the five had intended to use the fund as a vehicle to collect and utilise public donations in support of the 2019 protests.
“The Fund was more than ‘a mere sum of money held by the appellants in trust’,” the Court stated. It added that the five had administered and managed the fund’s activities “like a management committee or a governing body”.
Margaret Ng has announced her intention to appeal to the Court of Final Appeal, Hong Kong’s highest court. Speaking to journalists after a brief meeting with their lawyers, Ng emphasised that the issue goes beyond the fate of the individual fund. “If every time a group of people comes together to do something, this becomes an organisation that has to apply to the police for registration or an exemption, this will have a huge impact on Hong Kong’s civil society.”
