Hong Kong Watch Briefing on Human Rights Developments: October 2023

This briefing describes developments in Hong Kong in October 2023 focusing on the rapid deterioration of human rights in the city following the introduction of the National Security Law.

Click here to read the full briefing.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

POLITICAL PRISONERS: ARRESTS, CHARGES & TRIALS

  • Verdict in Stand News editors postponed to November

  • Hong Kong man jailed for sedition over children’s books

  • Mainland activist incommunicado after removal from Hong Kong

  • Victim of police gunfire receives 47-month jail sentence for charges stemming from 2019 protest movement

  • Police arrest 20 individuals for seeking to withdraw their Mandatory Pension Fund contributions

  • China’s National Day brings surveillance and new arrests

THE STATE OF THE RULE OF LAW AND POLICING

  • Chief Executive John Lee uses annual policy address to stress national security; Article 23 of the Basic Law to be enacted in 2024

  • Hong Kong court rules in favour of equal housing rights for same-sex couples

MEDIA FREEDOM IN THE CROSS HAIRS

  • Hong Kong denies visa to scholar of Tiananmen Square massacre

  • Hong Kong police request the removal of ‘seditious’ Jimmy Lai documentary from YouTube

  • Chinese security forces urged imprisoned Hong Kong radio host to become pro-Beijing YouTuber

  • Chinese diplomats put pressure on media freedom event at the UNHRC

  • China re-elected to UN Human Rights Council

  • Detained ex-editor of Apple Daily issues public apology over Chinese espionage claims

STATE SECURITY AND ECONOMY

  • Democratic Party absent from local elections after ‘patriotic’ electoral reform

  • Hong Kong introduces economic policies to revive property market, boost birth rate

  • Beijing and Hong Kong agree to promote cross-border financing

  • Canadian banks blocking Hong Kongers’ access to an estimated C$1.5 billion in pension savings

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

  • New Georgetown report finds official response to 2019 protests ‘extraordinarily harsh’

  • Hong Kong civil society groups oppose HKSAR’s membership application to RCEP

Briefing, NewsFrances BellHR