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US-China relations
China

National security law’s effects undercut Hong Kong freedoms, says US government report, citing arrests of Cardinal Zen and Jimmy Lai

  • State Department’s Hong Kong Policy Act report cites changes imposed on the city’s courts and electoral system that violate its Basic Law
  • The arrest of retired Catholic leader Cardinal Joseph Zen and the case of imprisoned media tycoon Jimmy Lai are also mentioned

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A new US State Department report condemns the national security law imposed on Hong Kong. Photo: AP
Robert Delaneyin Washington
The US government on Friday cited the Chinese government’s recent interpretation of the national security law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong three years ago as one of many violations of the city’s semi-autonomous status, outlined in an annual report required by Congress.
Highlighting an issue that has put Washington at loggerheads with authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing, the annual Hong Kong Policy Act report derided the decision that the city’s courts would need the approval of the chief executive or a committee established to safeguard national security to allow the participation of foreign lawyers.
The report argued that the interpretation “could significantly increase the authority of Hong Kong’s executive branch over the judiciary”, representing further deterioration of the rule of law as set out in the city’s Basic Law.
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The State Department’s report to Congress on the state of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong is mandated by legislation that codified US relations with the city after the British handover in 1997.

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Subversion trial gets under way for 47 Hong Kong opposition activists and former legislators

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While the report acknowledged a continued degree of autonomy in Hong Kong, it said the national security law and electoral changes that have undercut the prospects for opposition political parties have eroded differences between the city and mainland China too much for US law to apply differently.

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“There remain differences between Hong Kong and mainland China in some areas, including commercial and trade policy, internet freedoms and freedom of religion,” it said.

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