HK police to continue probe into disbanded 'rights group'

Hong Kong police said on Sunday that they would continue to follow up on any violations of the city's laws by the Civil Human Rights Front, which announced on the same day it was disbanding.

"An organization and its members remain criminally liable for any offense committed, regardless of the disbandment of the organization or the resignation of its members," the Hong Kong Police Force said in a statement hours after the front's announcement.

The front's decision was made at a specially convened general meeting on Friday and was adopted unanimously by all remaining members, the group said in a statement on Sunday. It came as the group was under investigation for alleged violations of the Societies Ordinance and the National Security Law for Hong Kong, local media reported.

The police statement said the front had been operating illegally since its establishment in 2002, as it had not registered as a company under the Companies Registry or a legal organization under the Societies Ordinance.

The group failed to respond to a police request under the Societies Ordinance in April for information on its members, activities and funds.

In a statement on Sunday, a spokesperson for the central government liaison office in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region expressed its support for police following up on the alleged illegal actions by the front.

The spokesperson said the anti-China group had only itself to blame for its dissolution as it had wantonly defied the rule of law over the years and brought harm to society. The illegal group had stirred up trouble in Hong Kong in the name of human rights and freedom by inciting and organizing illegal assemblies. Some of these had morphed into violent clashes with the government of the Hong Kong SAR, the spokesperson added.

In particular, the front had brazenly encouraged its members to advocate separatism and issued letters with distorted facts to foreign consuls general in the city, the spokesperson said.

The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council on Sunday called for investigations into the legal liability of anti-China groups in order to restore law and order in Hong Kong.

The office said the front knew its activities had seriously touched the principle of "one country, two systems", violated the National Security Law for Hong Kong and a number of local laws of Hong Kong. "It was under investigation by the Hong Kong police and had reached the end of the road, so it hastily announced its disbanding and tried to escape legal punishment, which is wishful thinking," the office said.

The office said it would also support the SAR government's efforts to put things right in all areas, root out the "cancer" and "curse", and ensure the steady and long-term implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle.

Executive Councilor Ronny Tong Ka-wah, also a senior counsel, said the front had no reason to fold if it had not violated the law.

Tong said its disbandment would not affect investigations of possible breaches of the law.

Stanley Choi Tak-shing, chairman of the Joint Committee for the Promotion of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, said the front's actions had been "far from promoting democracy and freedom" as it claimed, but only aimed to stir up public sentiment to oppose every issue relating to the central government and the people of the Chinese mainland.

Choi appealed to the public not to be misled by the group's attempts to portray itself as a victim of a so-called crackdown. He stressed that Hong Kong people's freedom of association and procession, as well as their participation in politics through various means, have always been guaranteed under the city's Basic Law and local legislation.

In a statement supporting the police's actions, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the largest political party in the city's legislature, said the recent dissolutions of anti-government organizations showed the National Security Law's significance in returning the city to peace and stability.

Under the National Security Law for Hong Kong, the front was reportedly under investigation in March over an accusation it was being funded by the National Endowment for Democracy, a Washington-based NGO. Many of its constituent political groups subsequently revoked their membership, including the Professional Teachers' Union, Hong Kong's largest teachers' organization, which also decided to disband on Tuesday.

Zhang Yi in Beijing contributed to this story.