On 1 July 1997, Hong Kong was handed over to China. 

On 1 July 2020, the Chinese Communist Party regime imposed a new draconian National Security Law on Hong Kong, destroying the city’s freedoms and autonomy. 

To mark the 24th anniversary of the handover, and the first anniversary of the imposition of the National Security Law, Hong Kong Watch is hosting a webinar with a distinguished panel to look at the challenges that have arisen in Hong Kong since the handover, the broken promises, the international response and what the future holds.

We will be joined by Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who served as UK Foreign Secretary for two years in the lead-up to the handover, activist Ray Wong, who was the first Hong Konger to claim asylum abroad, Hong Kong-born Canadian Member of Parliament Jenny Kwan, and United States Congressman Chris Smith, a leading voice on human rights in the US Congress and a former Chair of the US Congressional Executive Commission on China.

Join us at 15.00 hours UK time (10.00am EST, 22.00 Hong Kong time) on Thursday 1 July 2021.

Hong Kong Watch Canada’s launch of its Red Capital report and a briefing on Canadian pension funds that are invested in Chinese companies complicit in human rights abuse. The event will take place online at 10am EST/3pm GMT on 10 June 2021.  It will also mark 12 June anniversary, the second anniversary of the 2019 anti-Extradition Bill protest movement in Hong Kong.

The event will include:

·       A briefing from Hong Kong Watch’s Policy Director, Johnny Patterson, on our latest report detailing the role ‘Red Capital’ and economic coercion has played in the demise of Hong Kong’s autonomy; (link to report)

·       A briefing by Hong Kong student activist and Hong Kong Watch Associate Joey Siu, on new research that shows a number of Canadian public pension funds are invested in Chinese companies complicit in human rights abuse and linked to the People’s Liberation Army.

·       Remarks by Senator Leo Housakos, who is the former Speaker of the Senate and a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Chair of the Standing Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament;

·       Remarks by John McKay MP, who is the current Member of Parliament for Scarborough—Guildwood, the former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Defence, and the current Chair of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security.

If you are interested in attending the webinar, please register.

For those who cannot make the date, we will be recording the event and uploading it online.

We look forward to seeing you there.

“Red Capital: The Invisible Hand Transforming Hong Kong’s politics, media and business”

Date: 4 March 2021 (Thursday)

Time: 2pm to 3pm (UK), 10pm - 11pm (HK), 9am to 11am (DC, Ottawa)

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Ever since the Closer Economic Partnership Agreement was signed between Hong Kong and China in 2003, the Chinese Communist Party has been quietly taking control of the Hong Kong economy.

From the media to real estate, from politics to finance, the transformation of the make-up of Hong Kong’s economy has had a discernible impact on the society.

The webinar was chaired by Benedict Rogers and featured an excellent panel of speakers including Ted Hui, self-exiled former Hong Kong pro-democracy legislative councillor, Rushanara Ali MP, Labour Party Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow, Dr Malte Kaeding, lecturer in international politics at the University of Surrey and Johnny Patterson, Policy Director of Hong Kong Watch.

During the webinar, the speakers discussed the implications of these trends and what it all means for policy makers. Many of the insights within this report would be as applicable to the rise of Chinese investment in cities around the world including New York, Toronto, Sydney, London, or Frankfurt.

"Broken Promises, Trampled Freedoms:
The crisis in Hong Kong today and what the International Community should do"

Details:

Date: 4 February 2021 (Thursday)
Time: 12:00-13:00 (UK) / 20:00-21:00 (HK) / 07:00-08:00 (DC, Ottawa)
Location: Live-stream on Facebook

***

A draconian new national security law, mass arrests, police brutality, serious human rights violations, the disqualification and resignation of the entire pro-democracy camp from the legislature, attacks on press freedom, academic freedom and the independence of the judiciary: this is the picture of the Chinese Communist Party regime’s flagrant dismantling of Hong Kong’s freedoms in grave breach of promises made in an international treaty, the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Some countries have responded with piecemeal measures – the United States imposed sanctions, the United Kingdom offered a generous pathway to citizenship under its new British National Overseas (BNO) policy, Canada has offered a lifeboat rescue scheme and some European countries have suspended their extradition agreements. But there is a need for a more robust, co-ordinated global response, bringing together punitive sanctions, humanitarian assistance to those who need to flee, and stronger diplomatic pressure.

What mechanisms within the United Nations could be used? Could a UN Special Rapporteur be appointed to monitor the situation in Hong Kong? What more could the European Union do? What could a new alliance of democracies as envisaged by President Biden and Boris Johnson do? What is the role of the Five Eyes and the G7? How can international justice mechanisms be used? What should be the response of lawyers and jurists around the world? What does the breach of a treaty mean for the international rules-based order?

To discuss these questions Hong Kong Watch has brought together a distinguished panel including the former British Foreign Secretary Lord Owen, the former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee, the Director of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, and the former Irish Member of the European Parliament John Cushnahan (who served as the European Parliament’s Rapporteur on Hong Kong 1997-2004).

Hong Kong Watch is pleased to invite you to join a panel discussion on Magnitsky-style sanctions and how governments worldwide can contribute to fighting the impunity for the violations of human rights in Hong Kong.

Event Details

Date: 24 November 2020 (Tuesday)

Time: 15:00-16:00 (UK) / 23:00-24:00 (HK) / 10:00-11:00 (DC, Ottawa)

Location: Online Event & Facebook Livestream

Registration: Sign up here to access the webinar via video conferencing. The event will also be live-streamed on Hong Kong Watch's Facebook.

Since the imposition of the National Security Law in Hong Kong by the Chinese Communist Party in June 2020, Hong Kong Watch has been rallying international support for Hong Kong in the face of the draconian National Security Law, which directly breaches China's obligations under the Joint Declaration and has destroyed the city's autonomy. We believe that likeminded international partners must coordinate a response to the current crisis, including imposing sanctions on the perpetrators of human rights abuses in Hong Kong.

As we confront severe attacks on fundamental human rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, our high-level panel of five distinguished speakers will reflect the importance of the adoption of Magnitsky-style Sanctions legislation and the use of such legislation to hold the human rights violators accountable for their actions.

Host:

Speakers:

Hong Kong Watch is pleased to invite you to join a live webinar with a panel of speakers on Wednesday 18 November discussing the UK BNO Visa Scheme.

Event Details

Date: 18 November 2020 (Wednesday)

Time: 11:00-12:00 (UK) / 19:00-20:00 (HK)

Location: Online Event & Facebook Livestream

Registration: Registration is now closed for access via video conferencing. Please join us Hong Kong Watch's Facebook live.

In response to the imposition of National Security Law in Hong Kong by Beijing which undermines Hong Kong's rule of law and "One Country, Two Systems", the UK government announced its offer of "pathway to citizenship" for eligible BNOs by way of a Hong Kong BN(O) Visa.

In this webinar, our speakers will share their insights and views on:

• BNO policy gaps

• Campaign for young people who are not BNO

• UK Refugees/asylum policy and practicality

• Legal aspects of BNO

• Moving and settling in the UK

Host:

Speakers:

Perseus (pseudonym)
Perseus is an immigration and human rights lawyer in the UK. He helped draft Hong Kong Watch's BNO briefing, which provides background details about the status of BNOs and a range of questions which policy-makers and journalists should be asking to ensure that the ‘pathway to citizenship’ outlined by the Foreign Secretary provides a genuine offer of refuge.

Sunny (pseudonym)
Sunny is the co-founder of hkbrits website and a BNO who studied and now works in the UK for many years. hkbrits is a bilingual website which provides useful information for BNOs and Hong Kongers who are planning to move to and settle in the UK.