Consistent with sections 205 and 301 of the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (the "Act") (22 U.S.C. 5725 and 5731) and section 7043(g)(3)(C) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2023 (Div. K, P.L. 117-328), the Department submits this report and the enclosed certification on conditions in Hong Kong from April 2022 through January 2023 ("covered period").
Summary
The Department of State assesses that during the covered period, the central government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) took new actions directly threatening U.S. interests in Hong Kong and that are inconsistent with the Basic Law and the PRC's obligation pursuant to the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 ("Sino-British Joint Declaration") to allow Hong Kong to enjoy a high degree of autonomy. There remain differences between Hong Kong and mainland China in some areas, including commercial and trade policy, internet freedoms, and freedom of religion, but PRC and Hong Kong authorities continued to use "national security" as a broad and vague basis to undermine the rule of law and protected rights and freedoms and continued to stymie any progress toward universal suffrage in elections for Hong Kong's Chief Executive and Legislative Council as set out in Hong Kong's Basic Law. In the Certification of Hong Kong's Treatment under United States Laws, the Secretary of State certified Hong Kong does not warrant treatment under U.S. law in the same manner as U.S. laws were applied to Hong Kong before July 1, 1997.
During the covered period, PRC authorities continued to deny people in Hong Kong the ability to play a meaningful role in the city's governance, including for the first time permitting only one candidate to run for Hong Kong Chief Executive. Hong Kong authorities, under the supervision of the PRC central government, continued to use the National Security Law (NSL) that the central government imposed on Hong Kong in June 2020 to further erode the rule of law in Hong Kong and the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people in Hong Kong. In December 2022, the PRC National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) issued its first "interpretation" of the NSL stating that the Chief Executive and Committee for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong have the authority to issue legally binding certificates and decisions on issues related to national security that are not subject to judicial review. According to legal experts, this interpretation could significantly increase the authority of Hong Kong's executive branch over the judiciary.
Hong Kong authorities continued to arrest and prosecute people for peaceful political expression critical of the local and central governments, including for posting and forwarding social media posts. While Internet access remained widespread and generally open, local authorities criminally charged people engaged in online political speech.
Authorities continued to reportedly undermine the rights of defendants in cases designated as involving national security, including by denying them bail and subjecting them to lengthy periods of pretrial detention; stripping them of the right to a trial by jury under domestic law and requiring that their cases be overseen by a judge specially designated by the Beijing-endorsed Chief Executive to hear national security-related cases; and restricting their choice of legal counsel. In cases where authorities assert a nexus with national security, there is little to no expectation of a fair trial or associated fair trial guarantees and other applicable legal protections.
Hong Kong and PRC authorities continued to target civil society groups, media companies, activists, journalists, political parties, labor unions, and other individuals and organizations that they accused of being connected to Hong Kong's prodemocracy movement or otherwise critical of the local or central government. Authorities arrested Cardinal Joseph Zen, the former Catholic Bishop of Hong Kong, and other trustees of a now-dissolved humanitarian fund that supported individuals arrested or injured during the 2019 pro-democracy protests, on suspicion of "collusion with foreign forces." In a separate but related case, Zen and the fund's other former trustees were convicted and fined for failing to register the fund as a society, in what the defendants described as an infringement of their freedom of association.