Hong Kong Watch Patrons urge UK Foreign Secretary to take action in response to passage of Article 23

Today, Hong Kong Watch Patrons, including the last Governor of Hong Kong Lord Patten of Barnes, former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, KC, Lord Alton of Liverpool, Alistair Carmichael MP, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, KC, and Sir Geoffrey Nice, KC have written to British Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron, urging him to declare the enactment of the Safeguarding National Security Bill in Hong Kong as a breach of both the Sino-British Joint Declaration and international law; impose targeted sanctions to ensure accountability; and implement measures to protect the safety and well-being of the more than 160,000 Hong Kongers in the UK.

The Safeguarding National Security Bill, which is implemented under Article 23 of the Basic Law and referred to as ‘Article 23’, was swiftly passed by the Hong Kong Legislative Council on 19 March 2024, just 49 days after the Hong Kong Government released the initial 110-page consultation document for the bill. The new legislation targets five types of activities which the Hong Kong officials intend to declare as ‘offences’, and contains vaguely-worded provisions which threaten to both criminalise the peaceful exercise of human rights and dramatically undermine due process and fair trial rights in Hong Kong. Article 23 will bring further devastating consequences for human rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, beyond the impact of the National Security Law imposed by Beijing in 2020. 

At the conclusion of the Hong Kong Government’s public consultation process for Article 23 on 28 February 2024, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) recognised Article 23 as a violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the Basic Law, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Hong Kong Watch Patrons call for FCDO to do the same following the passage of the bill.

In the letter, Hong Kong Watch’s Patrons urge the UK government to consider imposing targeted sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee for his lead role in the development and enactment of Article 23 in Hong Kong, including by asset freezes and a travel ban. In January 2023, Hong Kong Watch made a formal sanctions submission to the FCDO outlining the case for John Lee to be sanctioned under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. The submission was accompanied by a cover letter from two of the signatories, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, KC and Sir Geoffrey Nice, KC, and has yet to receive official FCDO action in response. 

The signatories also call on the UK government to offer greater protections for Hong Kongers in the UK. This includes expanding the British National (Overseas) visa scheme to enable the children of BNO passport holders born before 1 July 1997 to apply for the visa scheme independently of their parents, bringing them in line with children born after 1 July 1997. 

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

“We welcome Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron’s statement on the passage of Article 23 in Hong Kong, but much more is needed – actions, not only words. The Foreign Secretary should heed the call from our Patrons to declare Article 23 a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and international law, and set out measures to protect Hong Kongers in the UK. The UK government should also swiftly impose targeted sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee to end impunity and ensure accountability.”

香港監察贊助人聯署促請英外相採取行動回應23條通過

香港監察贊助人，包括前香港總督彭定康勳爵（Lord Patten of Barnes）、前英國外交大臣聶偉敬爵士（Sir Malcolm Rifkind）、上議員奧爾頓勳爵（Lord Alton of Liverpool）、下議員甘文康（Alistair Carmichael MP）、御用大律師肯尼迪女男爵（Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws）和御用大律師尼斯爵士（Sir Geoffrey Nice），今天聯署致函英國外相甘民樂勳爵（Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton），促請他宣告香港實行根據《基本法》第23條所制訂的《維護國家安全條例》（俗稱23條）違反《中英聯合聲明》和國際法；施行點名制裁，確保問責；推行措施保障逾16萬名在英香港人的安全和福祉。

2024年2月28日，香港政府就23條立法展開的公眾諮詢結束，英國外交、聯邦及發展事務部表示23條違反《中英聯合聲明》、《基本法》、《公民及政治權利國際公約》和《經濟、社會及文化權利國際公約》。香港監察贊助人呼籲英國外交部在23條通過後採取同樣做法。

香港監察贊助人在信中促請英國政府考慮點名制裁香港行政長官李家超，方式包括資產凍結和旅遊禁令，因他帶領制訂並實行23條。2023年1月，香港監察向英國外交部提交正式制裁建議書，概述根據全球人權制裁制度（Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime）制裁李家超的理據。建議書附有御用大律師肯尼迪女男爵和尼斯爵士的支持信，惟外交部尚未正式採取行動回應。

聯署人同時呼籲英國政府為在英香港人提供更多保護措施，包括擴大英國國民（海外）簽證計劃，讓1997年7月1日前出生的BNO護照持有人子女能夠獨立於父母申請簽證，與1997年7月1日後出生的子女一樣能夠受惠。

香港監察共同創辦人兼行政總監羅傑斯（Benedict Rogers）表示：

「我們歡迎外相甘民樂勳爵就香港通過23條發表的聲明，但當局需要採取更多行動，而非僅僅發表言論。外相應響應香港監察贊助人的呼籲，宣告23條違反《中英聯合聲明》和國際法，並制訂措施保護在英港人。英國政府亦應迅速點名制裁香港特首李家超，終止有罪不罰局面並確保問責。」