China freezes pastor's bank account in Hong Kong clampdown

SINGAPORE – During the height of Hong Kong's protests last year, Pastor Roy Chan led a ragtag crew of middle-age and elderly church volunteers who would turn-up at pro-democracy demonstrations wearing yellow vests with Chinese characters on the back that read, "Protect the Children."

They'd form human chains to try to block police from reaching the mostly teenage and college-age protesters, shouting: "Beat us, don't beat the kids."

At times, the authorities obliged. Many of the volunteers, including an 83-year-old known as Uncle Wong, were tear-gassed and pepper- sprayed.

Chan and his church say they now are paying a price for that activism.

Last week, while in Britain, the 39-year-old pastor went online and discovered that bank accounts belonging to him, his wife and the Good Neighbor North District Church had been frozen. The next day, he learned police had raided the church's