Hong Kong Watch welcomes the UK government’s latest Six-Monthly Report on Hong Kong and calls for action in response to China’s “ongoing non-compliance” with the Sino-British Joint Declaration

 The UK government has published its latest Six-Monthly Report on Hong Kong, covering the first six months of this year, from 1 January–30 June 2023. It concludes that “the threat of prosecution under national security offences continues to suppress free speech, stifle opposition and shrink the space for civil society”.

In his Foreword to the report, the Foreign Secretary James Cleverly emphasises that the Sino-British Joint Declaration is “a UN-registered, legally binding treaty” in which the government of the People’s Republic of China “promised to uphold the rights and freedoms enjoyed by the people of Hong Kong” and to uphold Hong Kong’s autonomy. Instead, China has “chosen to curtail and control many of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Joint Declaration and Hong Kong’s Basic Law”, leaving it in “an ongoing state of non-compliance”.

The Foreign Secretary cites the arrest warrants and bounties issued against eight exiled pro-democracy activists, including three who reside in the UK, the ban on the song ‘Glory to Hong Kong’, the trial of the 47 former legislators and pro-democracy activists under the National Security Law (NSL), and the case of Jimmy Lai, the founder of Apple Daily and a British citizen, who has been in prison for over two-and-a-half years and whose trial under the NSL has been further delayed. “His prosecution is highly politicised and I raised his case in Beijing last month. We continue to press for consular access. The international community is paying close attention to his case and many others,” the Foreign Secretary writes. He notes that “arrests under the NSL and sedition laws continue at pace,” and highlights the reduction of directly elected District Council seats as “a further step away from universal suffrage”.

The report details the further dismantling of basic rights and freedoms in Hong Kong over the first half of this year, including continued violations of media freedom, freedom of association and freedom of assembly, citing the cancellation of a march on International Women’s Day, the crackdown on commemorations of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre and the seizure on 5 May this year by National Security Police of Danish artist Jens Galschiot’s “Pillar of Shame” sculpture.

This year’s report examines the full range of commitments made by China under the Joint Declaration, including public services, education, finance, the economic and monetary systems and shipping, in addition to basic rights and freedoms and the legal system, which the Foreign Secretary describes as “at a critical juncture” with new legal precedents being established and the authority of the Chief Executive on security matters placed above Hong Kong’s courts. The report also highlights changes in the education system, including the NSL curriculum in schools, compulsory field trips to mainland China for secondary school students, the installation of surveillance cameras in schools and the launch of a new security website for schools by the Hong Kong Police.

Benedict Rogers, co-founder and Chief Executive of Hong Kong Watch, said:

“We welcome this report and the clear and comprehensive overview of the continued violations of basic rights and freedoms in Hong Kong. We welcome the specific focus on individual cases, such as Jimmy Lai’s and the 47 former legislators and activists.

“The UK government is absolutely correct to describe China’s broken promises as ‘a state of ongoing non-compliance’ with the Joint Declaration, and it is right to speak out robustly in condemnation of the dismantling of Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy.

“However, the key question now is what will the UK government do? What are the consequences for China for flagrantly flouting its obligations under a UN-registered, legally binding treaty? Tough words, though welcome, are not enough. If there are no consequences, the Chinese regime will continue to breach international agreements.

“It is time now for the UK to impose targeted sanctions on those in Beijing and Hong Kong who are responsible for breaking an international treaty and violating human rights.

“The UK must also play a leading role in ensuring that Hong Kong features prominently in China’s forthcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations.

“The UK must seize every opportunity to ensure that human rights in Hong Kong are raised, that Hong Kong’s political prisoners are never forgotten, and that pressure is exerted on Beijing to stop its crackdown on Hong Kong’s freedoms.”

英國《香港半年報告》指中國「持續不遵守」《中英聯合聲明》 香港監察呼籲英方制裁中港侵犯人權者

英國政府發表最新一份《香港半年報告》，涵蓋今年頭六個月，即2023年1月1日至6月30日。報告指出「國安控罪的威脅持續壓制言論自由，打壓反對聲音和收窄公民社會的空間」。

英國外交大臣祁湛明（James Cleverly）在報告前言中強調《中英聯合聲明》是 「一份在聯合國登記、具有法律約束力的條約」。當中，中國政府「承諾維護香港人民所享有的權利和自由」，並維護香港的自治。然而，中國「選擇了限制和控制多項《聯合聲明》和《香港基本法》所載的權利和自由」，並「持續不遵守」其內容。

外交大臣引用多個例子，包括對八名流亡民主派人士（其中三名居住在英國）發出的懸紅通緝令、就歌曲《願榮光歸香港》申請的禁制令、47名前立法會議員和民主派人士的《國安法》案件，以及《蘋果日報》創辦人及英國公民黎智英的案件，其《國安法》審訊一再延期，至今已被還押逾兩年半。外相表示：「對黎智英的檢控高度政治化，我上個月訪問北京時亦有提出他的案件。我們會繼續要求作領事探視。國際社會正密切關注此案和其他許多案件。」 他指出：「根據《國安法》和煽動法所作的拘捕仍然持續」，並強調減少直選區議會議席是「距離實現普選又倒退一步」。

報告詳細記錄今年上半年香港基本權利和自由的進一步瓦解，包括對新聞、結社和集會自由的持續侵害，並列舉了國際婦女節遊行被取消、六四悼念活動被鎮壓，以及今年5月5日丹麥藝術家Jens Galschiot的雕塑「國殤之柱」被警方國安處沒收等情況。

今年的報告審視了中國在《聯合聲明》下所作的一系列承諾，包括公共服務、教育、金融、經濟和貨幣體系及航運，同時亦審視了基本權利和自由及法律體系。外相形容隨着當局開創法律先例，以及行政長官在國安事務上的權力凌駕香港法院，香港法律體系正處於「危急關頭」。報告亦提及教育制度的改變，包括學校的《國安法》課程、中學生被強制參與中國考察團、在學校安裝監視鏡頭，以及香港警方為學校推出國安網站。

香港監察共同創辦人兼行政總監羅傑斯表示：

「我們歡迎這份報告及其對香港基本權利和自由持續被侵犯情況所作的清晰和全面概述。我們歡迎報告特別關注個別案件，例如黎智英和47名前立法會議員和社運人士的案件。

英國政府將中國違背承諾的行為描述為『持續不遵守』《聯合聲明》絕對正確，強烈譴責香港自由和自治被瓦解也是正確的做法。

然而，現在的關鍵問題是英國政府會有甚麼行動？中國公然違反在聯合國登記、具有法律約束力的條約所制訂的義務，會有甚麼後果？強硬措辭固然受歡迎，但並不足夠。 如果毋須承擔後果，中國政權將繼續違反國際協議。

英國現在是時候對北京和香港那些違反國際條約和侵犯人權的人實施指名制裁。

英國也必須擔當主導角色，確保香港在聯合國即將對中國展開的《普遍定期審議》（UPR）中佔據重要位置。

英國必須把握一切機會，確保香港人權狀況得到關注，香港政治犯永遠不會被忘記，並向北京施壓，要求其停止打壓香港自由。」