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(Taipei) Chinese Government suppresses basic freedoms Hongkong In the five years since protesters began occupying city streets on June 12, 2019, in a months-long pro-democracy demonstration, authorities have taken steps to curb the spread of the virus, Human Rights Watch said today. Arrested Exceed Police arrested 10,000 people for participating in the protests, of whom 2,910 were charged and 1,475 were convicted, according to government data.
Foreign governments should hold Hong Kong and Chinese officials responsible for abuses accountable, including through the imposition of targeted financial and travel sanctions.
“Five years after the Hong Kong protests began, the government has failed to apologize or hold police accountable for abuses, instead promoting those responsible for the violence to lead the city,” Virtual currency“Hong Kong is now a city where any criticism of the police or seeking justice for violence can land you in jail,” said the acting China director of Human Rights Watch.
In February 2019, the Hong Kong authorities Proposed Revisions Amend Hong Kong’s extradition law to allow extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China, where due process rights are often violated. On June 9, more than a million people peacefully demonstrated against the extradition amendment.
exist June 12Tens of thousands of people gathered around the Legislative Council, Hong Kong’s semi-democratic legislature. occupy Adjacent roads. Hong Kong police fired tear gas, bean bags and rubber bullets to disperse protesters, injuring dozens of people. Hong Kong’s then-chief executive Carrie Lam condemned the protests, calling them “riots.”
Over the next six months, Hong Kongers held near-daily protests, demanding the five demands: withdrawal of the extradition bill, reversal of the official characterization of the protests as riots, amnesty for arrested protesters, an independent investigation into alleged police misconduct, and full universal suffrage for Hong Kongers, as promised by Beijing.
While Hong Kong authorities ultimately abandoned the proposed legal amendments, they ignored other demands, including calls for an investigation into excessive use of force by police. Officers accused of using excessive force during the 2019 protests have not been held accountable. Lam has insisted that the existing police complaints mechanism, which is part of the police force, is sufficient.
Protests have occurred across the city, often with large turnouts. The largest protest took place on June 16, 2020, when organizers estimated that 2 million people took to the streets in the city of 7 million.
“From students and teachers to workers and lawyers, from activists to teenagers and octogenarians, all sectors of Hong Kong society have participated in widespread civil disobedience,” Wang said.
Protesters organized a strike and formed a 4,000-strong new Workers’ Uniondemonstrated outside police stations, occupied the Legislative Council, the airport and surrounding streets, held hands to form a 50-kilometer-long “Hong Kong Road”, placed advertisements in major newspapers around the world, delivered speeches at the United Nations, and put pressure on foreign governments for support.
Hong Kong police have increasingly used excessive and indiscriminate force against largely peaceful protesters, in violation of international human rights standards. Police have fired projectiles including pepper balls, tear gas, and rubber bullets at protesters, including at close range and into people’s faces, causing injuries including blindness.
them Fire tear gas in enclosed spaces, including subway stations and shops; hitting protesters on the head and chasing them in potentially dangerous situations Stampede; Hitting a police car Rushing into the crowd and unnecessarily pinning protesters to the ground, including Pregnant women, childrenand Elderly.
The police twice Live ammunition fired Some protesters claimed that they Beating and abuse In custody, one of them explain Police Officer have Being raped Some accused the police of deliberate inaction. gang Attacked protesters. One of the protesters was named Alex Chow Sze-Lok. Death The exact circumstances of the action taken by the police remain controversial.
Hong Kong Progressive Scholars Group Reported There were 1,200 cases of alleged police brutality during the protests between June 9, 2019, and January 21, 2020. Some protesters also turned more violent over time, throwing bricks and Molotov cocktails at police and vandalizing property owned by pro-Beijing businesses. set fire Another person died when protesters hurled bricks at him.
In December 2019, a group of foreign experts Resign Hong Kong police review body over concerns they lack powers to deal with abuses linked to protests. In November 2020, the Hong Kong High Court rule The government failed to provide an independent mechanism to deal with complaints against the police, in violation of the Human Rights Act. That month, an independent British policing expert who had quit the Hong Kong censorship body published an article Report in conclusion The 2019 protests were escalated by excessive use of force by Hong Kong police.
As of June 2024, the Chinese and Hong Kong governments have undermined Hong Kong’s civil liberties by imposing two draconian national security laws, suppressed Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement by detaining and prosecuting elected representatives, and eliminated Civilized Society groups and independent trade unions, and shut down democratic media.
Hong Kong’s abusive police force has been given greater power and impunity under former senior police officer John Lee and Secretary for Security Chris Tang, both of whom were responsible for the crackdown on protests in 2019. Beijing-controlled Hong Kong courts have handed down baseless convictions against pro-democracy leaders and activists; some face heavy sentences, up to life in prison.
Human Rights Watch said that while many foreign governments have expressed concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in Hong Kong, few have taken concrete action. In 2020, the United States imposed sanctions on Hong Kong officials for abuses in 2019, the only government to do so. In the face of continued repression in Hong Kong, foreign governments should impose sanctions on police officials responsible for the crackdown, Human Rights Watch said.
“Foreign governments should impose targeted sanctions on senior Hong Kong police officials in response to the continued impunity for abuses against pro-democracy protesters in 2019,” Wang said. “Doing so will send the right message and change the calculations of leaders bent on turning a once-free society into a highly repressive state.”
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