London-based, anti-China group Friends of Hong Kong distances itself from members said to be involved in case of 4 protesters caught after 20 months in hiding
- Organisation admits members had personally provided support for Tsang Chi-kin, 21, who survived being shot in the chest during a violent protest in 2019
- It denies allegations of crowdfunding and connections with parties that had exposed Tsang and three others
But Friends of Hong Kong admitted in a statement on Friday night that its members had personally provided support for Tsang Chi-kin, 21, who survived being shot in the chest during a violent protest in 2019.
The group stressed it had not helped Tsang further, except for issuing comments in 2020 pledging its continued backing for protesters in similar situations.
It denied allegations of crowdfunding and connections with parties that had exposed Tsang and three others. Tsang was among four young people intercepted and arrested by police in Sai Kung on Wednesday, with the force acting on a tip-off. The quartet, aged 16 to 24, had missed legal proceedings over a raft of charges, such as rioting and joining illegal assemblies, and had failed to report to police since late 2020
“We have always been a very small organisation … We never [sought] funding for Tsang. Any such attempts had nothing to do with Friends of Hong Kong or any members of Friends of Hong Kong,” the group said on Friday, adding that any related support provided by its members was “on a personal basis”.
“Any further support [for] Tsang was never handled by Friends of Hong Kong,” it insisted, without elaborating on the help its members had offered, nor if they had received money from the four.
The group also said it had ceased operations last October.
