ARTICLE 19 joined 85 other civil society and human rights organisations in sending a letter to the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress concerning proposed national security legislation for Hong Kong. The signatory organisations called on the Standing Committee to reject the legislation, which threatens the basic rights and freedoms of the people in Hong Kong. According to a decision by China’s National People’s Congress, the law is expected to prohibit acts of “splittism, subversion, terrorism,” and activities of “foreign and overseas intervention in Hong Kong affairs,” vague terms that may encompass any criticism of the government and be used against people peacefully exercising and defending their human rights. The signatory organizations expressed particular concern that the law could be used to target activists, human rights lawyers, scholars, journalists, netizens and civil society organizations based in Hong Kong. Further, they raised the possibility that the law could allow Chinese national security agencies to operate freely in Hong Kong without effective checks and balances or protections for human rights.
Hong Kong: Joint letter concerning national security legislation
