The U.S. State Department released its 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on April 22, which mentioned several human rights issues in Hong Kong, including the abuse of juvenile offenders, freezing or cancellation of accounts of social activists by HSBC and its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank, and the status of press freedom in Hong Kong.
The U.S. State Department raised concerns about human rights issues in Hong Kong in its report, saying that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has violated its commitments in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, continues to deprive Hong Kong of political freedoms and autonomy, unjustified arrests or prosecution of journalists, and imposes restrictions on political participation. There are also severe and unreasonable restrictions, making it impossible for local citizens to change their government peacefully through free and fair elections.
The report quoted an article by The Washington Post in June 2023, which stated that the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department (CSD) used the so-called “deradicalization” programs to create a feeling of hopelessness among juvenile prisoners (including children) who had participated in political protests. The report quoted one detainee who asserted that if they failed to recite the Prisons Ordinance correctly, they would be beaten with wooden sticks by the CSD officers. The interviewee also said that he had witnessed CSD officers striking sensitive parts on the inmate’s back with their elbows, and kneeing inmates in their thighs. The report believes that the Hong Kong government is responsible for investigating relevant allegations and documenting the results in a publicly accessible manner. It also believes that the Office of the Ombudsman, an independent statutory body appointed directly by the Chief Executive, should investigate such allegations.
The report also mentioned that the Hong Kong government has frozen the bank accounts of former lawmakers, civil society groups, and other political targets. It has also frozen the assets belonging to several suspects in National Security Law (NSL) and sedition-related trials, including assets worth nearly HK$500 million (US$63.8 million) from Next Media founder Jimmy Lai; HK$60 million (US$7.66 million) from the shuttered Stand News; and HK$2.2 million (US$281,000) from the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Movements of China. The report also named two Hong Kong banks for their role in human rights incidents, including quoting Tsang Kin-shing, founder of Citizens’ Radio, as saying that the station ceased operations after Hang Seng Bank froze its account in June 2023; it also cited the League of Social Democrats’ claim that HSBC terminated the party’s account without giving any reason.
In addition, the report quoted scholars as saying that CCP-controlled media outlets continued to attack and harass academics for their research and writings. The Hong Kong government also influences academic appointments based on a scholar’s political orientation, or his/her background. Moreover, public libraries, schools, and universities have purged their collections to comply with the NSL, with the University of Hong Kong requiring library users to register before borrowing “special collections” that include books about the Tiananmen Square massacre, as well as books authored by local democracy advocates. The Hong Kong Public Libraries also require special registration to access the film collection of the Tiananmen Square incident.
In areas of press freedom, the report mentioned that Ronson Chan Ron-sing, chairperson of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, was sentenced to five days in prison for failing to hand in his personal identity card to the police during an interview in September 2022 while reporting. Reporters Without Borders also confirmed that 11 journalists and one media worker had been detained. In addition, two freelance foreign journalists who had reported on the anti-extradition movement in 2019 were also denied entry.
The report also stated that the Hong Kong government had sent complaint letters to more than 150 foreign news outlets in 2023, protesting against the way they reported and commented on the Hong Kong government, the NSL, and other major events of the Hong Kong government. These complaint letters are often issued under the name of the chief executive or other high-level officials, and describe the reports or comments as “grossly biased,” “groundless allegations,” and the like.
