Demosisto report detailing human rights concerns in Hong Kong removed from UN review hearing, Joshua Wong claims

Party secretary general says he has asked for an explanation as UN Human Rights Council kicked off its third review hearing on China’s human rights

Wong believes the report was removed due to political censorship by the OHCHR under pressure from the Beijing government

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Activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung, secretary-general of pro-democracy party Demosisto, with the party’s report.Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 7:04am, 7 Nov 2018Updated: 7:04am, 7 Nov 2018

A report detailing alleged suppression of politics and human rights problems in Hong Kong has been removed from a United Nations’ summary for the current review hearing in Geneva, pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung said on Tuesday.

Wong, the secretary general of Hong Kong political group Demosisto, revealed the issue on Tuesday as the UN Human Rights Council kicked off its third five-yearly review hearing on China’s human rights record.

The report in question was submitted by Demosisto in March to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and was included in the first Stakeholder Summary in September, among 85 individual submissions and 42 joint submissions.

A figure, in the shape of a hand with the colours of the China national flag for fingernails and a ‘23’ on its palm with reference to the controversial Article 23 law, is carried by protesters at a National Day rally in Hong Kong on October 1. Photo: AFP

However, the report was found to have been removed in October, when the summary was republished after being taken offline for a few weeks due to what the OHCHR called “technical reasons”.

Also erased were one individual report from a Tibetan group, three joint submissions involving groups concerning southern Mongolia, and references to two Uygur groups.

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