In October 2023, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced that the governmentwould table its own local national security legislation, with the China-imposed National Security Law(NSL) remaining in effect during the process. The local legislation aims to fulfil Article 23 of the Basic Law, which guarantees the ‘one country, two systems’ framework by prohibiting acts that, in the government’s eyes, threaten the regime security of the Central People’s Government. The legislation allows the government to criminalise activities that have been accepted in Hong Kong for long, such as buil ..read more

In the past three years since Beijing imposed a National Security Law (NSL) on Hong Kong, many analysts and observers worried that the authorities would continue to legislate new bills to weaponize laws and courts to suppress the free and open society of Hong Kong.  These concerns were not invalid; the chief executive of Hong Kong made it clear that they would complete the legislation of the local security bill by next year. The use of formal, domestic legal rules, ranging from employing the sedition law to banning civil society activities that lack an entertainment license, has silenced ..read more

Last week, Hong Kong’s high court dismissed a government request for an injunction order against the protest song “Glory to Hong Kong.” The government accused the piece of desiring and promoting Hong Kong’s independence, and previously attempted to bar the dissemination and circulation of the song on the internet. The protest song was composed by local citizens during the 2019 anti-extradition protests. It was widely used and chanted in protest scenes, at street demonstrations, shopping malls, and public schools. After Beijing imposed the National Security Law in 2020, the public use of the p ..read more

After the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic and China’s imposition of the national security law (NSL), the Hong Kong government is anxious about the city’s attractiveness to foreign investment. They hosted a series of forums and summits to promote Hong Kong’s return to “business as usual.” They also organized numerous propaganda campaigns and roadshows to tell “,a good Hong Kong story.” Their aim appears simple: to convince the global community that the city remains an attractive place for investment despite China’s economic downturn, especially after the zero COVID policy. Can Hong Kong remai ..read more

Weaponizing laws and courts to imprison opposition leaders is a common strategy for authoritarian and hybrid regimes around the world, such as Russia, Belarus, Myanmar, Singapore, and China. The legal system is used as a tool to eliminate forces of political opposition, prevent mass mobilization against the rulers, and create a chilling effect in society. For some regimes, using independent courts that enjoy a limited extent of autonomy to punish opposition figures could even enhance the legitimacy and justification of legal repression. Hong Kong is no exception to such autocratic practices ..read more

Amid the widespread anti-zero-COVID protests in mainland China, political and judicial persecution in Hong Kong continues in the criminal court, where key pro-democracy figures and journalists are facing national security trials that could result in life in jail. Jimmy Lai is one of the most well-known defendants outside Hong Kong, and his trials have become symbolic of the crackdown on freedom of speech by Beijing. As the owner of the famous liberal newspaper ,Apple Daily, Lai has been seen as a committed advocate for the city’s universal suffrage, promised in ,the Basic Law of Hong Kong, a ..read more

The United Nations Human Rights Committee, the official watchdog of the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), issued strong-worded concluding observations in light of Hong Kong’s human rights violations after the National Security Law (NSL) was enacted. Article 39 of the Basic Law, a constitution-like document in Hong Kong, warrants that the ICCPR and other international human rights treaties remain applicable in Hong Kong. Thus the Hong Kong government has an obligation to fulfill the requirements and recommendations of the treaty bodies. The loc ..read more

Twenty-five years ago, foreign investors and the international business community had hopes that Hong Kong’s handover from the British government to China would keep this international financial hub vibrant and its independent legal institutions robust under the “one country, two systems” framework. “One country, two systems” was the strongest guarantee of the new authorities’ commitment to defending the rule of law, judicial independence, basic rights and liberties, and good governance with a high degree of autonomy. Unfortunately, such faith in the new regime appears to have faded. The inhe ..read more

July 1 marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from British colonial rule to the People’s Republic of China. The restrictions on how the anniversary is being held are symbolic of how much things have changed in Hong Kong in the past few years. Several major media outlets are blocked from covering the anniversary ceremony attended by China’s president, Xi Jinping, drones have been banned from the city and political activists have been told by the city’s national security police not to protest. The past two years have seen significant changes in Hong Kong’s freedoms. National securit ..read more

Lord Robert Reed and Lord Patrick Hodge, the UK supreme court president and deputy president, have resigned from their roles on Hong Kong’s top court. On their departure, ,they criticised the state of civil liberties and the rule of law in Hong Kong following the implementation of the national security law by Chinese authorities in 2020. Reed and Hodge are not the first foreign judges to leave the court following the national security law, which the local administration has used to target the ,political opposition and ,shut down independent media publications. James Spigelman, a former Chief ..read more