World Uyghur Congress, 17 June 2020

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China’s proposed national security law for Hong Kong is a devastating assault on human rights and must be abandoned, a group of 86 civil society organizations including Amnesty International told Chinese authorities ahead of a key meeting of Beijing lawmakers on Thursday.

The proposed national security legislation is likely to be discussed at this week’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) session, which starts tomorrow. The proposed law could come into force as early as this month and quickly be used to crack down on Hong Kong’s freedoms.

“Although China has revealed few concrete details about the national security law, everything we know about it so far suggests it will threaten the basic rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong,” the groups wrote in a letter to the NPCSC.

“It criminalizes broad, vague ‘offences’ that can encompass any criticism of the government and be used against people peacefully exercising and defending their human rights.”

The decision to draft a national security law, passed by the National People’s Congress at its last session in late May, proposes to outlaw acts of “splittism, subversion, terrorism,” and activities of “foreign and overseas intervention in Hong Kong affairs”.

It is anticipated that the legislation will be debated at a special NPCSC session next week – after which it could come into force.

The vague terms in the proposed law leave it open to abuse by authorities to crack down on a wide range of rights and freedoms. 

Hong Kong’s security minister, John Lee Ka-chiu, has said the law will be enforced by police on the “very first day” the legislation comes into effect. Meanwhile, NPCSC member Elsie Leung said she could “not rule out” the law being used retroactively.

“China must abandon plans to introduce national security legislation for Hong Kong. No government should invoke national security as a justification for measures that perpetrate repressive practices against its population,” the letter said.

The NPC’s decision says the law will allow the Chinese government to set up institutions to protect “national security” in Hong Kong “as needed”.

This could mean the establishment of agencies such as the Ministry of State Security and the National Security Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security – long known for serious rights violations in China, including arbitrary detention and torture of activists and members of non-governmental organizations.

“Allowing these agencies to operate in Hong Kong, or having similar agencies set up by the Hong Kong government, poses an imminent threat ­– not only to human rights defenders, the independent media and dissidents, but essentially to everybody in the city.” the letter said.

The Hong Kong Secretary of Justice Teresa Cheng has said a separate “special court” may be established to handle national security cases to “help the judiciary navigate uncharted territory”. 

“The proposal of a ‘special court’ for national security cases is deeply concerning and suggests that suspects may not enjoy the same fair trial rights as others in Hong Kong’s judicial system,” the letter said.

The draft law will be introduced to Hong Kong through promulgation, bypassing the city’s Legislative Council and without any meaningful public consultation.

“The NPC’s decision to directly insert the national security legislation into Annex III of the Basic Law raises serious concerns about human rights protections,” the letter said.

“Without the requirement to comply with international human rights law, the vague terms in the proposed law leave it open to abuse by authorities to crack down on a wide range of rights and freedoms.” 

The following 86 organizations signed the letter:

2047 HK Monitor

Amnesty International

Article 19

Asia Monitor Resource Centre

Australia Hong Kong Link

Beyond the Boundary-Knowing and Concerns Intersex

Borderless Movement

Brisbane International Student Solidarity with Hong Kong

Canadian Friends of Hong Kong

Canberra Hong Kong Concern Group

China Criticism Society of Denmark

China Labour Bulletin

Chinese Human Rights Defenders

Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group

Christian Social Workers

Christians for Hong Kong Society

Citizen Power Initiatives for China

Citizens’ Radio

Civil Human Rights Front

Civil Rights Observer

Civil Society Development Resources Center

Covenants Watch

Equality Project

Forthright Caucus

Forum Worlds of Labour / Forum Arbeitswelten e.V.

Freedom House

Friends of Conscience

General communication worker union

Grassroot Cultural Centre

Hong Kong Affairs Association of Berkeley

Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China

Hong Kong Christian Fellowship of Social Concern

Hong Kong Christian Institute

Hong Kong Committee in Norway

Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions

Hong Kong Forum, Los Angeles

Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor

Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Workers Trade Union

Hong Kong Unison Limited

Human Rights in China

Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan

Human Rights Watch

Humanitarian China

International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute

International Human Rights Council – Hong Kong

International Service for Human Rights

Justice and Peace Commission of the HK Catholic Diocese

Kwai Chung Estate Christian Basic Community

Labour Education and Service Network

McMaster Stands With HK

Netherlands for Hong Kong

New School for Democracy

New Yorkers Supporting Hong Kong

Northern California Hong Kong Club

One Body in Christ

Open Data Hong Kong

Planet Ally

Power for Democracy

Progressive Lawyers Group

Queer Theology Academy

Rainbow Action

Reclaiming Social Work Movement

Reporters Without Borders

Retail, Commerce and Clothing Industries General Union

Right of Abode University

Scholars’ Alliance for Academic Freedom

Sheng Kung Hui Lady MacLehose Centre Staff Social Movement Concern Group

Sounds of the Silenced (SOS)

SRACP Staffs Union

Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty

Taiwan Association for Human Rights

Taiwan East Turkestan Association

The Academic Staff Association of The Education University of Hong Kong

The Association for the Advancement of Feminism

The Hong Kong Society for Asylum-seekers and refugees

The Norwegian Taiwanese Friendship Association

The Norwegian Tibet Committee

The Rights Practice

Torontonian HongKongers Action Group

TWGHs Staff Social Movement Concern Group

United Nations ECOSOC NGO International Career Support Association

Uyghur Human Rights Project

Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement

Worker Empowerment

World Uyghur Congress

浸信會愛羣社會服務處同工社會行動關注組 (Chinese list)

Read the full letter here!