New Hong Kong Watch report exposes Hong Kong’s slide into authoritarianism, warning legal bodies and businesses worldwide

Today, Hong Kong Watch launched a new report, In the Name of National Security: How Hong Kong’s National Security Laws Dismantle the Rule of Law in Comparative Perspective, at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub.

The report, co-authored by Hong Kong Watch’s Research and Policy Advisor Anouk Wear and Policy Director Megan Khoo, analyzes how Hong Kong’s 2020 National Security Law and 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance undermine the rule of law in Hong Kong by eroding its liberal constitutional framework, judicial independence, and separation of powers.

The report also places Hong Kong’s national security laws in a broader context, comparing them with legislation in the People’s Republic of China, Russia, and Malaysia, to illustrate their alignment with the restrictive measures of authoritarian regimes.

The report concludes with recommendations for policymakers, international businesses, and legal professional bodies, offering guidance as the global community reassesses its relationship with an increasingly authoritarian Hong Kong.

You can read the full report here and the executive summary here.

During today’s report launch, the discussion featured opening remarks by Shelly Hahn, Deputy Director of the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, followed by a panel discussion with Anouk Wear, Research and Policy Advisor at Hong Kong Watch, Kevin Yam, Advisory Board Member at the China Strategic Risks Institute, Sophie Richardson, Visiting Scholar at the Stanford University FSI Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, and Thomas Kellogg, Executive Director at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law and Adjunct Professor of Law at the Georgetown University Law Center. The discussion was moderated by Matt Geraci, Associate Director at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub.

Thomas Kellogg commented on “weaponization of the law to crackdown on human rights” and the “false positive gloss” that the Hong Kong government has put on the national security laws. Sophie Richardson reflected on the sentencing of the Hong Kong 47, saying that “the idea that anybody is going to prison for participating in an informal primary is ludicrous” and Kevin Yam emphasized the indivisibility of the rule of law and added “the national security law is having a lot of downstream impact.”

You can watch a recording of the discussion here.

Anouk Wear, Research and Policy Advisor at Hong Kong Watch, said: 

“Today, following the sentencing of the Hong Kong 47 and one day before Jimmy Lai’s trial resumes, we can clearly see that the rule of law in Hong Kong is in steep decline and that the national security laws are used for political purposes.

Nevertheless, the Hong Kong government continues its global propaganda campaign focused on whitewashing its human rights violations and promoting “business as usual”. This report dismantles these claims, analyzing specifically how the rule of law will affect ordinary citizens and the business community, and compares it to jurisdictions known for their poor rule of law. We strongly urge businesses and others interested in doing business in and with Hong Kong to consider these factors in their risk assessments.”