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On Monday, Amnesty Worldwide introduced that it might depart Hong Kong by the top of the yr, explaining that it’s now “successfully unattainable” for the NGO to proceed working underneath the Nationwide Safety Legislation. Its departure from Hong Kong marks the exit of some of the outstanding worldwide NGOs within the metropolis, and is an ominous signal for what stays of town’s civil society.
The Hong Kong department of Amnesty Worldwide consists of two places of work, each of that are scheduled for closure. Dan Strumpf from the Wall Avenue Journal described the scope of Amnesty Worldwide’s work in its Hong Kong places of work:
In Hong Kong, Amnesty centered on human-rights schooling, together with offering classroom talks, selling an annual human-rights-themed documentary movie pageant and co-sponsoring a regional journalism award.
A separate Amnesty workplace in Hong Kong labored on analysis and human-rights advocacy work throughout the area. Amnesty mentioned it might shut its native workplace by the top of October, and its regional workplace by the top of the yr. It mentioned the regional workplace’s work would proceed from new areas however didn’t say the place. Greater than 30 folks labored for the group’s two places of work in Hong Kong, a spokesman mentioned. [Source]
Workplace of AIHK ceases its operation on 31 October 2021. Amnesty will proceed to watch the human rights situation in Hong Kong and world wide. Study Extra: https://t.co/tjtjtlEhYN pic.twitter.com/WyRhcZF3q4
— Amnesty Worldwide Hong Kong (@amnestyHK) October 25, 2021
Tom Grundy from the Hong Kong Free Press reported that the specter of authorities reprisals for dissent was a serious motive for Amnesty Worldwide’s departure:
“This resolution, made with a heavy coronary heart, has been pushed by Hong Kong’s nationwide safety regulation, which has made it successfully unattainable for human rights organizations in Hong Kong to work freely and with out concern of significant reprisals from the federal government,” mentioned Anjhula Mya Singh Bais, chair of Amnesty’s board, in a Monday press launch.
[…] “Hong Kong has lengthy been a really perfect regional base for worldwide civil society organizations, however the latest focusing on of native human rights and commerce union teams indicators an intensification of the authorities’ marketing campaign to rid town of all dissenting voices. It’s more and more troublesome for us to maintain working in such an unstable setting.” [Source]
#HongKong nationwide safety regulation has made it successfully unattainable for human rights organizations in Hong Kong to work freely and with out concern of significant reprisals from the federal government, together with @amnesty. With a heavy coronary heart, we’re closing our places of work. pic.twitter.com/MpVUxlAuWV
— Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) October 25, 2021
We’ll shut 2 of our places of work in Hong Kong by the top of the yr. This resolution has been pushed by Hong Kong’s Nationwide Safety Legislation, which has made it successfully unattainable for human rights orgs to work freely & with out concern of reprisals from the government.https://t.co/UpiTMMq0pt
— Amnesty Worldwide (@amnesty) October 25, 2021
LATEST: Deputy sec gen Kyle Ward informed me the tempo:
“The noose appears to be tightening a bit nearer on civil society general and due to this fact it behoved us to make a transfer earlier than we ended up with somebody in jail.” https://t.co/SBHEcQSo1z— Laura Westbrook (@LauraWestbrook) October 25, 2021
New Hong Kong.
“(It) has made it successfully unattainable for human rights organisations in Hong Kong to work freely and with out concern of significant reprisals from the federal government,”
Amnesty to shutter Hong Kong places of work, blames safety regulation https://t.co/cSddwkaGDW through @FRANCE24
— Nathan Legislation 羅冠聰 (@nathanlawkc) October 25, 2021
He confirmed in January, an e mail despatched to the nationwide safety bureau accusing AI of violating the nationwide safety regulation and “poisoning college students” with its human rights schooling program
— Pak Yiu (@pakwayne) October 25, 2021
Al Jazeera added that the vagueness of the Nationwide Safety Legislation has blurred the road between criminality and legality, to the detriment of Amnesty Worldwide and different NGOs in Hong Kong:
“The setting of repression and perpetual uncertainty created by the nationwide safety regulation makes it unattainable to know what actions would possibly result in prison sanctions. The regulation has repeatedly been used to focus on individuals who have upset the authorities for any variety of causes – from singing political songs to discussing human rights points within the classroom,” mentioned Amnesty’s Bais.
“The sample of raids, arrests and prosecutions in opposition to perceived opponents has highlighted how the vagueness of the regulation might be manipulated to construct a case in opposition to whomsoever the authorities select.” [Source]
Rights NGO @Amnesty Worldwide says it is going to shut its Hong Kong places of work by the top of 2021. https://t.co/LYquK9Jejl pic.twitter.com/7FuiVDUwYr
— Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (@hkfp) October 25, 2021
The blurred line has created a Catch-22 for a lot of NGOs and opposition teams in Hong Kong: to keep away from breaching the Nationwide Safety Legislation (NSL), many organizations have disbanded, ceased their actions, or left Hong Kong, however the act of doing so could present grounds for future prosecutions of their organizations underneath the exact same regulation. That is the case for the Civil Human Rights Entrance (CHRF), whose actions had been deemed to be in battle with the NSL. Regardless of the group’s disbandment, authorities said that CHRF could be “daydreaming” to assume it may escape prosecution, and so they started investigating it for rallies held earlier than the regulation went into impact. That is additionally the case for the Hong Kong Democratic Social gathering, whose participation within the upcoming elections would straight problem the NSL, however whose potential election boycott “will presumably violate the Hong Kong nationwide safety regulation,” in keeping with a outstanding pro-Beijing institution determine. Once more, this appears to use to Amnesty Worldwide, which determined to go away town to keep away from being focused by the NSL. However as Laura Westbrook reported within the South China Morning Put up, one institution determine in Hong Kong tried to spin the group’s departure itself as a problem to the NSL:
However lawmaker Holden Chow Ho-ding, vice-chairman of the pro-establishment Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, mentioned he was “deeply dissatisfied” by Amnesty’s declare it was now not in a position to work within the metropolis with out concern of official reprisal and referred to as it “unfaithful”.
“It’s outrageous for any organisation to smear the nationwide safety regulation by unnecessarily closing their branches right here,” Chow mentioned. [Source]
“It’s outrageous for any organisation to smear the nationwide safety regulation by unnecessarily closing their branches right here.” https://t.co/tnxJaHpAN2
— Keith Richburg (@keithrichburg) October 25, 2021
Amnesty Worldwide joins an extended record of organizations which have disbanded or left town to keep away from being focused underneath the Nationwide Safety Legislation. Agence France-Presse reported that no less than 50 civil society organizations have already executed so, together with human-rights-related organizations such because the Hong Kong Civil Human Rights Entrance, the 612 Humanitarian Aid Fund, and the Hong Kong Alliance in Assist of Patriotic Democratic Actions of China. Human Rights Watch left Hong Kong after being penalized by China for U.S. laws supporting Hong Kong protesters, in keeping with the New York Occasions. Some organizations, such because the New Faculty for Democracy, have relocated to Taiwan.
When respected worldwide CSO like @amnesty can not survive in Hong Kong, it’s virtually unattainable for different smaller CSOs to function within the metropolis.
The draconian nationwide safety regulation brings far more than chilling impact to Hong Kong. https://t.co/24rs8ZR8RV
— Finn Lau 劉祖廸 (@finnlau_cd) October 25, 2021
Zen Soo from the Related Press cited a report by the Georgetown College Heart for Asian Legislation which defined how the Nationwide Safety Legislation makes it harmful for NGOs thought-about “political” to liaise with native activists and teams:
In a June report, Georgetown College’s Heart for Asian Legislation mentioned the Nationwide Safety Legislation mirrored laws in mainland China that tightly restricts contacts between native and worldwide non-governmental organizations and threatens activists with imprisonment for allegedly colluding with international forces.
“It’s disturbing — and opposite to worldwide regulation — to see Hong Kong’s ‘nationwide safety’ regulation equally strangle civil society and free speech within the territory,” mentioned Sophie Richardson, China director at non-governmental group Human Rights Watch.
“The diploma of surveillance and the Nationwide Safety Legislation’s obscure prohibitions makes contact between Hong Kong folks and people exterior the territory doubtlessly topic to prosecution, such that information-sharing is impeded,” she mentioned. [Source]
In a press release, Amnesty Worldwide’s Secretary Common Agnes Callamard paid tribute to the group’s accomplishments over time:
“We’re deeply indebted to Amnesty members and employees who during the last 40 years have labored tirelessly to guard human rights in and from Hong Kong. From efficiently pushing for the complete abolition of the loss of life penalty in Hong Kong in 1993, to exposing proof of extreme use of pressure by police through the 2019 mass protests, Amnesty in Hong Kong has shone a lightweight on human rights violations within the darkest of days,” mentioned Agnes Callamard, Secretary Common of Amnesty Worldwide.
“Within the wider area, our analysis and campaigning has tackled topics together with freedom of expression in North Korea, conscientious objection to army service in South Korea, the correct to housing in Mongolia, Japan’s wartime atrocities in opposition to “consolation girls”, and the crackdown on human rights legal professionals in China.
“Furthermore, Amnesty Worldwide Hong Kong’s schooling programmes – from classroom talks to a documentary movie pageant – have enhanced consciousness of human rights not solely within the metropolis’s faculties however among the many normal public as nicely. Nobody and no energy can demolish that legacy.” [Source]
An actual tragedy. Having labored with and attended occasions by Amnesty Worldwide HK, it was a beacon of hope for the broader area in its advocacy for human rights 🕯 https://t.co/hZCnnRSbQ3
— Janis Wong (@janiswong_) October 25, 2021
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