The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government issued a press release on February 17 saying that on the 17th, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance, at the request of the Department of Justice, to issue a confiscation order pursuant to Article 9 of Schedule 3 to the rules for the implementation of article forty-three of the law on the maintenance of national security of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (the rules) , confiscation of proceeds from crimes against state security committed by Xu Zhifeng. A spokesman for the HKSAR Government said that he was aware of the online misrepresentation and malicious attacks on the actions taken by the court in accordance with the law. The HKSAR Government strongly condemns and opposes this, and needs to directly denounce it and set out the facts, set the record straight.
Xu Zhifeng, file photo, source: Sing Tao, Hong Kong
A spokesman for the HKSAR government said: “The Hong Kong SAR is a society under the rule of law and upholds the principle that laws must be observed and violations of the law prosecuted. Among these, the filing of an application for a confiscation order is an effective practice to prevent offenders from benefiting from their offences. In fact, the laws and mechanisms for confiscating the proceeds of crime are common around the world and cover any serious crime, including crimes against national security.”
The spokesman said, “Xu Zhifeng is full of villainy and has been charged with several criminal offences. In 2020, he colluded with foreign politicians to forge documents and deceive the court with false information in order to obtain court approval to leave Hong Kong during the bail period and abscond overseas. However, during the period of absconding, he still acted recklessly to endanger national security. On 12 August 2021 and 21 June 2021, the 2023 issued arrest warrants for Xu Zhifeng on suspicion of“Inciting separatism”, “Inciting subversion of state power” and“Colluding with foreign or extraterritorial forces to endanger national security”. Xu Zhifeng is wanted by the police and is also a Secretary for Security Fugitive under Section 89 of the Ordinance on the protection of National Security.”
The spokesman stressed that, “The application for and the issue of a confiscation order must be made in accordance with the strict conditions laid down in Schedule 3 to the implementing rules, including the court being satisfied that the fugitive defendant could have been convicted of the offence in question and finding that the defendant had benefited from the offence, the value of the benefit derived by the defendant from the offence against national security and the amount that could have been realized at the time the confiscation order was made. Therefore, there is absolutely no such thing as confiscation of private property ‘at any time’ or ‘arbitrarily’ .”
“Hui chi-fung transferred almost hk $2.5 million of his personal assets to his mother and wife around the time he fled Hong Kong, and the Court was satisfied with the evidence presented by the Department of Justice,” the spokesman said
According to the law, if the accused benefits from the commission of an offence against national security, the gift is also made at any time after the date of the indictment, six years before the date of the indictment, the property held by the Giftee may be deemed to be the realizable property of the defendant and shall be forfeited. Mechanisms exist throughout the world to prevent offenders from transferring the proceeds of their crimes to others to avoid confiscation.
“The value of the proceeds of crime that the court of first instance approved for confiscation is determined strictly on the basis of the evidence and in accordance with the law. The value of Xu Zhifeng’s proceeds of crime is the reasonable value calculated on the basis of the relevant evidence.”
The spokesman reiterated that endangering national security is a very serious crime, and the HKSAR Government will use all lawful means to hunt down and crack down on criminals who endanger national security, hold them legally responsible and safeguard national security.