2017 marked the 20th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China and was also a year for the election of a new Chief Executive. While there were extensive ‘HK20’ celebrations around the city to mark the handover, the human rights situation in 2017 caused apprehension. During the year, mechanisms that protect human rights in Hong Kong came under renewed stress, raising serious concerns about the level at which human rights will be guaranteed in the future. The right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression both suffered as the authorities took a hard line against individuals associated with the Umbrella movement or debates about autonomy and independence. This review is not a comprehensive assessment of the human rights situation in 2017, but it covers the key human rights issues that Amnesty International Hong Kong has worked on.
In 2017, a number of student leaders and protesters involved in the Umbrella movement, which occurred in 2014, were charged with “public nuisance”-related offences and other vague charges. Other local activists faced charges of public disorder and unlawful assembly for their involvement in a largely peaceful protest in November 2016 against a central government ruling on Hong Kong’s Basic Law.
Among those charged were opposition lawmakers, the three co-founders of the “Occupy Central” civil disobedience campaign, and leaders of two student groups – Alex Chow and Nathan Law of the Federation of Students and Joshua Wong of “Scholarism.” A magistrates’ court, after finding the three student leaders guilty of offences relating to unlawful assembly, originally ordered community service or suspended sentences, but prosecutors successfully appealed, seeking harsher penalties.
The charge of “unlawful assembly” and other vague provisions in Hong Kong’s Public Order Ordinance, and their implementation, have been criticized twice by the UN Human Rights Committee for failing to meet international human rights law on the right to peaceful assembly. Amnesty International questioned the appropriateness of using these charges against peaceful protestors as well as the government’s appeals seeking harsher penalties, noting it has a chilling effect on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in the city.
Freedom of expression in Hong Kong is in danger. Another blow to freedom of expression occurred in early November when the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) inserted the National Anthem Law into Hong Kong’s Basic Law. Some media reports have indicated that the government has started drafting the implementation legislation for the National Anthem Law, with some reports suggesting that the application of the law may be retroactive, raising further concerns about the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression.
Publishing books is a form of expression and can only be limited under international law to those that are imposed in law and are necessary and proportionate for the purpose of specific public interests such as the protection of national security and public order. However, in late 2015, five booksellers associated with the Causeway Bay Bookstore, known for books banned in the mainland, went missing in Thailand, mainland China, and Hong Kong. Only in early 2016 did they reappear on television in mainland China. It has been two years since then, and even though the Hong Kong government claimed it would investigate their cases proactively, there has been no official explanation as to why and how they ended up in the mainland.
Of course, there were some positive developments in 2017 that give us hope. Two judicial review cases about the unfair treatment of same-sex partners were decided in favour of equal rights, though the government appealed. The government also started consultation on a gender recognition scheme. However, there was still no progress on a discrimination ordinance covering sexual orientation and gender identity. Hong Kong is in danger of being left behind in the region if it doesn’t make more significant progress in recognition of equal rights for LGBTI people soon.