US human rights report on Occupy protests gets Hong Kong government offices confused
State Department take on Occupy protests gets its government offices mixed up
Where is the "central government office" in Hong Kong under "one country, two systems"? It proved to be a tricky question that apparently confused the US State Department.
As the US government released it annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices yesterday that looked into global rights last year, one section on Hong Kong pinpointed problems regarding restricted electoral rights, threats to academic freedom and media self-censorship.
When it came to freedom of assembly during a stormy year on the local political scene, the US reported that the special administrative region had put up barricades at both the Legislative Council and Beijing's liaison office after a protest outside Legco against a plan to build two new towns in the northeast New Territories. However, the fences were actually erected at Hong Kong government headquarters at Tamar in Admiralty, adjacent to Legco, not the liaison office in Western district.
"Activists and pan-democratic legislators, however, expressed concern that the government took a more restrictive view of protests that occurred at the Central Government Liaison Office," the report stated.
"The Hong Kong government instituted more restrictive controls on protests at the CGLO and the Legislative Council complex in July when barriers were set up in connection with construction work to improve security at the buildings following a protest over land development in the New Territories. Authorities closed an area in front of the CGLO from July until the end of August."
The report noted that the committee that elected the chief executive and the "small circle" elections for Legco functional constituency seats were both dominated by the pro-establishment camp.
It also noted the alleged assault by police of protester Ken Tsang Kin-chiu during the Occupy movement, but did not give its own conclusion on the police's handling of protesters.
Instead it cited "many experts" who said police use of force during the sit-in had been "professional and appropriate" while some activists and journalists "expressed concerns". It observed there were "some restrictions on academic freedom and cultural events".
In response to the US report, the Hong Kong government said: "We reiterate that constitutional development is entirely an internal affair of our country, including the HKSAR. Foreign governments should respect this principle and should not interfere."
