Canadian singer, activist arrested in Hong Kong
90-year-old cardinal, also among 4 charged in Chinese crackdown on rights protesters
HONG KONG — Canadian singer and activist Denise Ho is one of at least four people who have been arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces to endanger China's national security, reports said Wednesday.
U.K.-based human rights group Hong Kong Watch said Ho was detained by Hong Kong's National Security Police, along with Cardinal Joseph Zen, lawyer Margaret Ng and scholar Hui Po-keung.
The rights group says the arrests are apparently related to their roles as trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which provided legal aid to people who took part in 2019 pro-democracy protests that were quashed by security forces.
Scores of pro-democracy activists have been arrested under a sweeping National Security Law imposed on the city by Beijing in 2020.
Ho was previously arrested and briefly detained in December.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, who had voiced her concern following Ho's first arrest, reiterated that sentiment on Wednesday.
“The news of multiple arrests in Hong Kong of former trustees of a legal defence fund, including Denise Ho, is deeply troubling,” she wrote on Twitter.
“The ongoing targeting of civil society groups erodes the rights and freedoms of (Hong Kong) residents guaranteed under (Hong Kong's) basic law,” Joly added, using pictograms of Hong Kong's flag in place of words.
A spokeswoman for the group Alliance Canada Hong Kong says the arrests are a sign of worsening repression in Hong Kong. “It's not exactly surprising that it happened, but it's still shocking,” Ai-Men Lau said.
“Especially arresting a 90-year-old cardinal for his peaceful activities,” she added in reference to Zen.
Lau said Ho was born in Hong Kong but grew up in Brossard, Que., on Montreal's South Shore. Ho has previously cited her time in Canada as a source of inspiration for her activism, Lau said.
Since returning to Hong Kong, Ho has become a “significant figure” in the pro-democracy community, and she helped run the 612 Fund, said Lau, who urged the Canadian government to ensure Ho receives proper consular support.
Global Affairs Canada said in a statement Wednesday the department was providing consular services to Ho.
Ho's manager, Jelly Cheng, confirmed Ho's arrest on Wednesday but said she had no other information.
Hong Kong's government and police had no immediate comment on the reported arrests.