Hong Kong Watch Briefing on Human Rights Developments: September 2023
This briefing describes developments in Hong Kong in September 2023 focusing on the rapid deterioration of human rights in the city following the introduction of the National Security Law.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
POLITICAL PRISONERS: ARRESTS, CHARGES, & TRIALS
In the last month, Beijing continued its crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, with the following developments:
On Jimmy Lai’s landmark 1,000th day behind bars, 67 organisations from around the world write to US President Joe Biden calling for action on Hong Kong
Jimmy Lai’s lawyers face threats from China for defending media mogul
Hong Kong national security police take away self-exiled democrat Ted Hui’s in-laws for questioning
Mainland Chinese student jailed for six months over plan to display Tiananmen monument banner in Hong Kong
THE STATE OF THE RULE OF LAW AND POLICING
Beijing tells foreign consulates in Hong Kong to hand over the personal details of all locally hired staff
Hong Kong’s top court rules in favour of legal recognition for same-sex couples
MEDIA FREEDOM IN THE CROSS HAIRS
The chairman of Hong Kong's leading journalist group found guilty of obstructing a police officer
PayPal donations to Hong Kong Free Press frozen
STATE SECURITY AND ECONOMY
City regulators urged to review Hong Kong’s ties to the London Metal Exchange
Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, head of public affairs at HSBC, will leave the bank in October after he sparked outrage by suggesting that Britain was too tough on China
CPP Investments, Canada’s biggest pension fund, has laid off at least five investment professionals at its Hong Kong office as it steps back from deals in China
Beijing stops one of China’s best-known international bankers from leaving the country
Trading of shares of heavily indebted property developer China Evergrande suspended in Hong Kong
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Hong Kong Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, visits Europe
The UK government makes a commitment to provide greater mental health support for young people from Hong Kong as part of a new £2.5 million government fund
The UK government launches latest Six-Monthly Report on Hong Kong, concluding that “the threat of prosecution under national security offences continues to suppress free speech, stifle opposition and shrink the space for civil society”.