Washington points to Hong Kong National Party ban and disqualification of pro-democracy lawmakers as cause for concern in latest human rights report
- US State Department says incidents are evidence of ‘substantial interference’ in city’s freedom
- Report also notes the limiting of free speech in the ‘political arena’
Hong Kong’s ban on a separatist party is just one in a series of events which constitute “substantial interference” in the city’s freedom, the United States has said in its latest human rights report.
The State Department cited in the report, released on Wednesday, the unprecedented banning of the Hong Kong National Party (HKNP), and the subsequent expulsion of a veteran British journalist who hosted the party’s founder at a talk, as examples of how the city’s freedoms of association and political participation had been restricted.
“During the year … some [Hong Kong] and central government actions restricted or sought to restrict the right to express or report on dissenting political views, particularly support for Hong Kong independence,” the 2018 report said, although it acknowledged that the Hong Kong government did generally respect freedom of expression.
