Law heat turns to Cantopop star

Cantopop star-cum-activist Denise Ho Wan-sze's past has come under the scrutiny of Hong Kong's law enforcement agencies, says The Standard's sister newspaper Sing Tao Daily.

Ho - also known by her stage name HOCC - has been a high-profile figure in the pro-democracy movement over the past few years.

Quoting a source, the report yesterday claims Ho's actions before and after the enactment of the national security law is being scrutinized by law enforcers in a move that may see her labeled an anti-China activist.

Ho has openly stated her support for the pro-democracy camp's primary election that was held last July 11 and 12.

In that election, she endorsed several candidates, including activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung, former district councillor Lester Shum Ngo-fai and former lawmaker Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, as well as called for the public to vote in the primary election.

Forty-seven people who organized or took part in the primary election have been charged with conspiracy to subvert state powers under the national security law. There is no telling whether more individuals or groups who supported the primary election will be arrested.

The source said the police might investigate Ho's role in other illegal matters, aside from incidents that may violate the national security law.

Ho took part in last year's June 4 vigil, an event the police objected to.

She had also taken part in political events overseas, such as the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva in July 2019.

In that meeting, Ho said police in Hong Kong shot rubber bullets and tear-gas canisters at unarmed protesters during the anti-fugitive bill movement.

She reported called on the UN to remove China from its Human Rights Council.

In September 2019, she attended a protest in Taiwan that supported Hong Kong's anti-extradition bill movement.

That same month, Ho was invited by Congressional-Executive Commission on China in the United States to testify on Hong Kong's situation at a hearing that examined US-Hong Kong relations in light of the social unrest.

In the hearing, she urged the US Congress to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act.

Closer to home, Ho was actively involved in the anti-fugitive bill movement.

She is the trustee of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund that provides humanitarian support to those who are arrested, injured or affected during the unrest.

The fund will cease operation after October as the Alliance for True Democracy, a group that operates the bank account for the fund, intends to wind up.

Sing Tao Daily wrote that the legality of the fund's operation will be law enforcement's investigative focus. Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung had said previously that even if opposition or anti-China groups have disbanded, they could still be investigated.