Hong Kong: Tiananmen vigil convictions an affront to human rights and international law

Responding to the convictions of three Hong Kong pro-democracy figures – Jimmy Lai, Gwyneth Ho and Chow Hang-tung – over their involvement in the city’s annual Tiananmen vigil on 4 June 2020, Amnesty International’s Deputy Secretary General Kyle Ward said: “The Hong Kong government has once again flouted international law by convicting activists simply for …

Hong Kong: First national security law conviction is ‘beginning of the end’ for freedom of expression

Responding to the conviction of Hongkonger Tong Ying-kit for “inciting secession” and “acts of terrorism” following the first trial under the city’s 2020 national security law, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Regional Director Yamini Mishra said: “The conviction of Tong Ying-kit is a significant and ominous moment for human rights in Hong Kong. Today’s verdict underlines the sobering fact …

Hong Kong: National Security Law has created a human rights emergency

Hong Kong’s National Security Law (NSL) has decimated the city’s freedoms and created a landscape increasingly devoid of human rights protections, Amnesty International said in a new research briefing released today, exactly one year after the Beijing-imposed legislation took effect. ‘In the Name of National Security’ details how the law enacted on 30 June 2020 has …

Hong Kong: People must not be punished for peacefully marking Tiananmen anniversary

The Hong Kong authorities must allow people to peacefully pay their respects to those killed in the Tiananmen crackdown, Amnesty International said ahead of Friday’s anniversary of the 1989 atrocity.    Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen vigil on 4 June has been banned on Covid-19 grounds for the second year running, but thousands are still expected to …

Australia should offer safe haven visas for those fleeing Hong Kong crackdown

Australia should offer safe haven visas to Hongkongers currently based in Australia, and those fleeing persecution under new repressive national security laws passed by Chinese authorities. “We welcome Prime Minister Scott Morrison mooting offering people from Hong Kong safe haven visas, just as the UK government is intending,” Amnesty International Australia campaigner, Nikita White said. …

China: National security law must not become a weapon of fear

Responding to today’s passing of a national security law for Hong Kong by the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress, the head of Amnesty International’s China Team, Joshua Rosenzweig, said: “The passing of the national security law is a painful moment for the people of Hong Kong and represents the greatest threat to human …

Hong Kong: Face mask ban an extreme attempt to quash protests

Hong Kong government invokes colonial-era law to crack down on protests “It is thanks to the climate of fear Hong Kong authorities have created that protesters feel the need to wear masks in the first place” – Joshua Rosenzweig Responding to the announcement today that the Hong Kong government will ban face coverings at public …

Hong Kong: Arbitrary arrests, brutal beatings and torture in police detention revealed 

A new Amnesty International field investigation has documented an alarming pattern of the Hong Kong Police Force deploying reckless and indiscriminate tactics, including while arresting people at protests, as well as exclusive evidence of torture and other ill-treatment in detention.  After interviewing nearly two dozen arrested persons and gathering corroborating evidence and testimonies from lawyers, …