People look at decorations for sale in Hong Kong, on Jan. 12.ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP/Getty Images
Hong Kong’s autonomy is declining and the freedoms of its residents are being “systematically eroded,” the British government warned Thursday.
Since Hong Kong was handed over from British to Chinese rule in 1997, the U.K. government has issued a report to parliament every six months on the state of the former colony and Beijing’s compliance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the agreement that enabled the change in sovereignty.
In a foreword to Thursday’s report, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said there is “no doubt that China is failing” to live up to commitments made before 1997, and accused Chinese and Hong Kong authorities of “undermining the rights and freedoms promised to Hong Kongers.”
“Hong Kong’s autonomy is declining, and the pervasive, chilling effect of the national security law seeps into all aspects of society,” Mr. Cleverly said. “The authorities continue to crack down on free speech, the free press and free assembly. Individuals and civil society groups are censoring themselves, and most independent news outlets have been forced to close.”
The report comes as the Hong Kong government this week accused London of attempting to interfere in a national security case involving Jimmy Lai, the former publisher of pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily.
After the BBC reported that Mr. Lai’s U.K.-based legal team sent a letter to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and met with a junior foreign office minister, Hong Kong accused the U.K. of attempting “to undermine the rule of law of Hong Kong and interfere with the independent exercise of judicial power in Hong Kong.”
Beijing intervened late last month to disallow Mr. Lai’s choice of lawyer – British barrister and King’s Counsel Timothy Owen – whom the local government had unsuccessfully tried to block in multiple Hong Kong hearings.
In Thursday’s report, Mr. Cleverly said that since the passage of the national security law in 2020, and the crackdown on opposition figures like Mr. Lai that followed, it had become “untenable” for U.K. Supreme Court judges to sit on Hong Kong’s top bench, as they had done since the handover.
Robert Reed, the president of the U.K. Supreme Court, and deputy president Patrick Hodge resigned in March last year, citing concerns their presence was lending legitimacy to an administration “which has departed from values of political freedom, and freedom of expression.”
That move came months after former Canadian Supreme Court chief justice Beverley McLachlin extended her own stay on Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal until 2024. Following Mr. Reed’s statement, Ms. McLachlin told The Globe she was not resigning, calling the CFA, “perhaps the last surviving strong institution of democracy” in Hong Kong.
Mr. Cleverly said Thursday that “the judiciary are required to enforce laws and values imposed by Beijing,” and criticized the use of a colonial-era sedition law – long abolished in the U.K. – “to crack down on dissent.”
A spokesperson at China’s foreign ministry in Hong Kong said Britain’s report “grossly interfered with Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs, and seriously trampled on international law.” In a separate statement, Hong Kong’s government said late on Thursday that it refuted the “slandering remarks and ill-intentioned political attacks” made in the report.
In the past, both Beijing and Hong Kong have rebuked the reports as unwelcome interventions by a former colonial power.
China has previously said it regards the Sino-British Joint Declaration – a treaty registered with the United Nations – as a “historical document” that “no longer has any practical significance.” For its part, London maintains that the declaration is binding and creates moral and legal obligations on the U.K. to ensure it is upheld.
Both the joint declaration and Hong Kong’s de facto constitution, the Basic Law, state that the previous way of life enjoyed in the territory “shall remain unchanged for 50 years.”
“The U.K. has an unwavering commitment to Hong Kong and its people,” Mr. Cleverly said. “We want Hong Kong to thrive, and we take our responsibilities as co-signatory to the Sino-British Joint Declaration very seriously.”
“China is diminishing the way of life promised to Hong Kong 25 years ago,” he added, accusing Beijing of sacrificing Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms “to facilitate greater control.”
With a report from Reuters