Canto-pop singer Denise Ho calls on UN Human Rights Council to remove China over ‘abuses’ in Hong Kong
- Invited by two human rights NGOs to address the council, Ho’s two-minute speech is twice interrupted on points of order by China delegate
- Singer says one country, two systems is ‘nearing its death’ following ‘years of deceitful promises’ by China
Canto-pop singer and pro-democracy activist Denise Ho Wan-sze called on the UN Human Rights Council to remove China from the body and convene an urgent session to protect Hongkongers, sparking two interruptions by a delegate from Beijing as she gave a short speech on Monday.
Ho, an active participant in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, was invited by NGOs UN Watch and the Human Rights Foundation to speak at a meeting of the 41st session of the council in Geneva.
The council, based in the Swiss city, is an intergovernmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 states responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights around the world.
Ho said the Vienna Declaration guaranteed democracy and human rights but they were under serious attack in Hong Kong, a reference to the government’s extradition bill, which would have enabled the transfer of criminal suspects to jurisdictions with which the city does not have a fugitive agreement, including mainland China.
But police had also used rubber bullets and tear gas against unarmed protesters, she added.