Hong Kong Watch welcomes the UK’s latest six-monthly report on Hong Kong, calls for sanctions in response to China’s “ongoing non-compliance with Sino-British Joint Declaration”
Today, the UK government published its latest six-monthly report on Hong Kong, covering 1 July 2023 to 31 December 2023. The report concludes that “Hong Kong’s civil and political systems no longer reflect China’s commitments. [The National Security Law’s] implementation has led to the curtailing of fundamental freedoms such as freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly and of association.” Hong Kong Watch welcomes the UK government’s acknowledgement of this reality, following our continuous advocacy to highlight the deterioration of human rights in Hong Kong.
In the Foreword of the report, Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron expresses concerns regarding the enactment of the Safeguarding National Security Bill in March 2024. The Foreign Secretary states that it “falls short of the international standards Hong Kong has promised to uphold and will have a negative impact on Hong Kong people’s ability to exercise their rights and freedoms.” The Foreign Secretary provides reassurance to Hong Kongers who now live in the UK, stating, “The National Security Law has no authority in the UK. We do not have an active extradition agreement with Hong Kong or China. I want to assure our valued Hong Kong community in the United Kingdom: you are safe here.”
The Foreign Secretary reiterates his call to release British citizen Jimmy Lai, whose national security trial started in December 2023. In regards to other political prisoners, the Foreign Secretary notes Hong Kong officials preventing Hong Kong barrister Chow Hang-tung from challenging the legality of her charges, and the closing arguments of the trial of the 47 pro-democracy legislators and activists.
During the reporting period, the Foreign Secretary cites the arrest warrants and bounties issued against 13 exiled Hong Kongers, 6 of whom live in the UK, the 2-month jail sentence for a Hong Kong student who posted pro-independence content online while abroad, and the record low turnout in the Hong Kong District Council elections after the number of democratically-elected seats dropped from 452 to 88 in May 2023.
The report details the further dismantling of basic civil and political liberties in Hong Kong over the final half of 2023, and provides a comprehensive overview of China’s legal and binding commitments under the Sino-British Joint Declaration and international laws, including in the public service, education, finance, shipping, civil aviation, and defence sectors. We welcome the Foreign Secretary’s pledge to “continue to speak out when China breaches its legally binding agreements and when it breaks its promises to the people of Hong Kong.”
Benedict Rogers, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Watch, said:
“We welcome this report which provides a robust review of the continued violations of basic rights and freedoms in Hong Kong. We welcome the specific focus on individual cases, including Jimmy Lai, Chow Hang-tung, and the 47 legislators and pro-democracy activists, as well as the 13 individuals who were issued bounties and continue to be targeted by the Hong Kong authorities.
The Foreign Secretary is accurate in once again describing China’s broken promises as “a state of ongoing non-compliance” with the Sino-British Joint Declaration. In line with this, we urge the Foreign Secretary to recognise any applications of Article 23 to be outright breaches of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, and to continue to monitor Hong Kong under this new national security legislation which poses an even greater threat to Hong Kongers in the city and abroad.
We also ask the Foreign Secretary to swiftly implement consequences in response to the Beijing and the Hong Kong government’s actions, including imposing sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee, extending the British National (Overseas) visa scheme for those who were born before the 1997 handover with at least one BNO-status parent, and reviewing the diplomatic privileges and immunities of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London.
Without consequences, the Chinese Communist Party will only continue to breach the Joint Declaration and other international legal obligations. The UK must ensure that the human rights situation in Hong Kong is raised, political prisoners are remembered, and take concrete steps to stop Beijing’s all out assault on Hong Kong’s freedoms.”
英國最新《香港半年報告》再批中國「持續不遵守」《中英聯合聲明》 香港監察呼籲制裁、擴大BNO計劃、檢視經貿辦
英國政府今天發表最新一份《香港半年報告》，報告期涵蓋2023年7月1日至12月31日。報告的結論為：「香港的公民及政治制度不再體現中國的承諾。［《國家安全法》 ］實施使言論、新聞、集會和結社自由等基本自由受到限制。」香港監察歡迎英國政府經我們不斷倡議強調香港人權狀況惡化後，承認這一事實。
香港監察共同創辦人兼行政總監羅傑斯（Benedict Rogers）表示：
「我們歡迎這份報告強而有力地審議香港持續侵犯基本權利和自由的行為。我們歡迎報告特別關注個別案件，包括黎智英、鄒幸彤和47名前立法會議員和社運人士的案件，以及13名被香港當局懸紅通緝並持續針對的人士。
外相再次準確地將中國違背承諾的行為形容為『持續不遵守』《中英聯合聲明》。有見及此，我們促請外相確認任何應用23條的行為均屬公然違反《中英聯合聲明》，並持續監察香港在這新國安法下的局勢，新法對身在香港和海外的香港人構成更大威脅。
另外，我們要求外相因應北京和香港政府的行動，迅速施加後果，包括制裁香港行政長官李家超；為1997年主權移交前出生、父母其中一方持有BNO身分的港人擴大英國國民（海外）簽證計劃；並檢視香港駐倫敦經濟貿易辦事處的外交特權和豁免權。
沒有後果的話，中國共產黨只會繼續違反《聯合聲明》及其他國際法律義務。英國必須確保香港人權狀況得到關注，政治犯為人銘記，並採取具體行動制止北京徹底侵犯香港自由。」