UN Expresses Alarm Over Hong Kong Law

Vincent Ferdinand Asia, Asia Freelancing Global Gig, China, China Freelancing Global Gig, Global World, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Freelancing Global Gig, News Article
  • The spokesman specified that the UN High Commissioner is also concerned with the interpretation of Article 29 of the new law.
  • The law was passed by the National People’s Congress, and its content was hidden from the public until practically its entry into force.
  • This week, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam defended the new law.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed alarm over the many arrests that have been made since Wednesday in Hong Kong courtesy of the controversial new national security law. Hundreds of people have since been arrested in the former British colony since Wednesday.

The Hong Kong national security law is a decision adopted by the third session of the thirteenth National People’s Congress, to authorize the National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) to promulgate a national security law in Hong Kong. The pan-democratic camp, human rights organisations and politicians abroad have criticised the decision as a threat to the “one country, two systems” principle, the rule of law and civil liberties.

“We are alarmed that arrests are already being made under the law with immediate effect when there is not full information and understanding of the scope of the offenses,” said the spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville.

“We are in the process of analysing the contents of the new National Security Law that was adopted on Tuesday very carefully in terms of its compliance with the international human rights obligations applicable to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR),” Colville added.

The spokesman specified that the UN High Commissioner is also concerned with the interpretation of Article 29 of the new law, which includes the crime of “conspiracy with a foreign country or foreign elements to put on national security risk.” He opines that that can lead to a restriction of civic space and the ability of civil society to exercise their right to participate in public affairs, in addition to criminalizing human rights defenders and activists.

The UN spokesperson also emphasized that the law must respect human rights, which the text explicitly recognizes, such as the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the right to a fair trial, and other fundamental freedoms.

The law, passed by the National People’s Congress of China (NPC), and whose content was hidden from the public until practically its entry into force, is Beijing’s response to more than a year of protests in Hong Kong. Those protests were initiated to challenge another law that aimed at facilitating extradition of residents of the former British colony to mainland China.

“One country, two systems” is a constitutional principle formulated by Deng Xiaoping, the Paramount Leader of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), for the reunification of China during the early 1980s. He suggested that there would be only one China, but distinct Chinese regions such as Hong Kong and Macau could retain their own economic and administrative systems.

This week, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam intervened by video conference at the UN Human Rights Council session, which is being held in Geneva, and defended this law. She assured those watching that the legislation does not question judicial independence or fundamental freedoms of Hong Kong’s citizens.

The law states that those who commit crimes of secession, subversion of state power (an accusation often used by Beijing against activists and dissidents), terrorist activities and conspiracy with foreign forces to endanger national security will be prosecuted. For these crimes, the legislation includes sentences of ten years to life imprisonment.

The text is very controversial because it violates, according to its critics, the “one country – two systems” principle. This is supposed to guarantee the ancient liberties of the former British colony, which are supposed to remain unique in comparison to other parts of China.

The National Security Law has been criticized by governments like the United States and the United Kingdom. The UK Government announced the granting of residence permits, and eventually citizenship, to about three million inhabitants of Hong Kong.

The decision increased tensions between London and Beijing, which accused China of violating the agreements reached for the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

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Vincent Ferdinand

News reporting is my thing. My view of what is happening in our world is colored by my love of history and how the past influences events taking place in the present time.  I like reading politics and writing articles. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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