Never seen before: Amnesty chief laments Hong Kong’s ‘declining human rights record’
Lifelong Hongkonger Mabel Au expresses sadness over threats to free speech and abuse of asylum seekers and foreign domestic workers
Amnesty International Hong Kong’s report released in 2017 suggested human rights in the city were in rapid decline. Where are we experiencing the biggest problems? The first area we are very concerned about is freedom of expression, and this covers freedom of the press and freedom of assembly. We see journalists like former editor in chief of Ming Pao Kevin Lau Chun-to being attacked, and we don’t know what the intention is. When journalists are facing these kinds of attacks it is very serious, and we have never seen this in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government does not facilitate the online media in covering the news, like at the Legislative Council elections they weren’t allowed to enter the ballot centre. This is very important because the press is always trying to disclose the truth and give the right information to the public, then we can decide if there’s any corruption or wrongdoing.
Last year with the Causeway Bay Books case, particularly with Lee Po, we can see he is not really free to talk. That kind of suppression, from Amnesty’s experience, happens very often in mainland China. This case sends a very negative message about the freedom of publication in Hong Kong.
Why do you think we are seeing this decline and why is it so worrying? We trust the system. We have very strong rule of law. Even though we are part of China, we have “one country, two systems”. If the rule of law is being threatened then that is a sign of decline. We demanded the government explain what is happening with the Causeway Bay booksellers case. We wrote to Leung Chun-ying about it and he never replied.
In the last few years, it has been very difficult to get a chance to directly talk to the government. There are a lot of situations where we try to have a discussion, and we provide information and analysis in the hope that they might adopt our suggestions. In the past, we may have had these chances, but not now. It is not a good sign – it is only through conversations that we can have change. In this city, society is not perfect, and if there are any areas that need improving, we give suggestions. But the government is not as friendly as before.
The increasing influence of mainland China is certainly a factor. This is about personal security. We have never seen this kind of situation before. We have a strong feeling this situation is declining.
What motivates you to fight for human rights in Hong Kong? From when we were young, we were taught that if you see anything unfair, you should be vocal. It’s very simple. I got that from my family and my education. I grew up in a generation when pop culture also had that message. People might say that Hongkongers are only looking for money in that it is a perfect capitalist society, but we treasure this belief in equality and truth. When you look back, you can see cases of corruption, civil servants abusing power, but when I was growing up I was told you have to be honest. You believe the whole society is an honest society. It is all those very basic values I learned when I was young. It made me believe I should work in human rights.