News: Elections Marred by Intimidation

Awaiting a Democratic Hong Kong

Hong Kong: Elections Marred by Intimidation

Hong Kong: Elections Marred by Intimidation

17 Sep 2004 15:44:35 GMT
Source: HRW

Hong Kong, September 9, 2004) – Human rights conditions in Hong Kong have deteriorated in the run-up to the legislative elections, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Elections for the 60-member Legislative Council will take place Sunday, September 12. In a new 40-page report, Human Rights Watch details how politicians, journalists and voters have faced political intimidation and criminal threats, much of it apparently emanating from Beijing with the aim of skewing election results to favor pro-Beijing candidates. In April, the Chinese government announced unilaterally that it would not allow universal suffrage for Hong Kong’s next election cycle in 2007 and 2008.

“The past 12 months have seen the most worrying attacks on free expression and association since the 1997 handover,” said Brad Adams, executive director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division. “This appears to be a direct result of Beijing’s desire to control the political situation in Hong Kong.”

Human Rights Watch said that the political climate has deteriorated for pro-democracy and human rights leaders following two large public demonstrations on July 1, 2003, and again on July 1, 2004, when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets to oppose the rollback of civil liberties and basic freedoms.

The report, “A Question of Patriotism: Human Rights and Democratization in Hong Kong,” also chronicles Beijing’s intimidation of the media and efforts to coerce voters into supporting pro-Beijing candidates, particularly by challenging the patriotism of dissenters.

“These elections are an important test of Beijing’s promise that basic rights and freedoms will continue in Hong Kong,” said Adams. “Lately, Beijing has been failing that test.”

Human Rights Watch said that the elections could have a major impact on human rights in Hong Kong because the Legislative Council has in the past been a battleground for rights protections. In 2003 the Hong Kong government, with the backing of Beijing, attempted to push through the legislature controversial Article 23 “anti-subversion” laws that did not meet international human rights standards and would have undermined basic freedoms in Hong Kong.

Human Rights Watch said that the past 12 months have seen a marked decline in the human rights situation in Hong Kong and that the toxic political climate created by Beijing’s patriotism campaign has increasingly become the backdrop to threats of violence. Among recent incidents: