Hong Kong police freeze USD9m donation to suppress the Hong Kong protest

In the latest attempt to suppress the Hong Kong protests, today the police in Hong Kong froze HK$70m/USD9m of funds donated to Spark Alliance.

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WHO ARE SPARK ALLIANCE?

Spark Alliance is a voluntary organisation that crowd funds to help the Hong Kong protesters. They have played a crucial role in providing legal support to those arrested and helped to bail out those who lack the funds. This support is crucial to those arrested - many whom were just passer-bys and weren't even protesting - and to keep them safe from police abuse when arrested. News of those arrested being beaten, harassed, sexually assaulted and even gang raped whilst in police custody have surfaced many times in the past few months.

Source : Spark Alliance Facebook page

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WHAT IS THE CHARGE?

The police have arrested four people from Spark Alliance, and said they have been money laundering the funds. They also said it is possible that Spark Alliance use the funds to encourage teenagers to join in the protests.

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WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS?

1. For the police to use such a weak excuse to freeze a large amount of donation for a cause which they clearly are not in favour of, seriously undermines Hong Kong's position as a global financial center. How can international companies, NGOs, global organisations possibly operate under such an unpredictable environment where authorities rule by law?

2. On the surface, this is clearly a ploy from the police to harass those who support the Hong Kong protest. By using money laundering as an accusation, it is likely they will seek access to Spark Alliance donors' information. Perhaps they think this will deter further donations, put a halt on Spark Alliance operations, and hence leaving the protesters with no legal aid.

3. If crowd funding is done via crypto currency, could this possible reduce the risk of funds of being frozen by the authorities and protect the donors' identity? Perhaps this would be a good opportunity to assess the role that crypto can contribute to these type of global movements.

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WHAT NEXT?

This issue has only just started a few hours ago so it is too early to know the outcome. Spark Alliance have issued a statement condemning the police's smear campaign and false accusation of money laundering. The reaction from the protest supporters is disbelief and anger. Pro bono lawyers working with Spark Alliance have committed to provide continued support to those arrested. Social media is flooded with dismay and concerns that Hong Kongers' freedom and rights are continued to be eroded, and that the government, not the protesters are destroying Hong Kong.