Joint Statement to Oppose Article 23
We, the undersigned organizations, firmly oppose the passage of the Safeguarding National Security Bill, commonly referred to as “Article 23,” set to be enforced in Hong Kong this Saturday, March 23. We condemn the Hong Kong S.A.R. government’s plan to dismantle Hong Kong’s autonomy under the guise of “national security,” which further exacerbates the existing crackdown on human rights.
Article 23’s vague and broad definitions of crimes adversely impact not only individuals facing political arrests and prosecutions, but also everyone else in Hong Kong. The law opens the door to further arbitrary arrests and detentions while escalating censorship, creating a global chilling effect.
Article 23 is designed to impact an unprecedentedly wide range of people. The law, for example, defines the crime of “espionage” as applicable to those who, “with intent to endanger national security,” obtain, collect, or possess information that is “directly or indirectly useful to an external force” (clause 41). It also broadly criminalizes acts with “seditious intention,” which includes an intention to bring anyone in Hong Kong “into hatred, contempt or disaffection” against the Chinese and Hong Kong governments, institutions or constitutional order. With such low thresholds for prosecutions, Article 23 could provide a pretext for even more politically-motivated prosecutions and convictions.
Article 23 exacerbates the persecution of political prisoners and compounds the existing human-rights violations under the National Security Law (N.S.L.). The new legislation reinforces a separate judicial process for political cases, which involves appointed national security police officers in addition to handpicked prosecutors and judges, and deprives suspects of important procedural protections that were once available under Hong Kong’s legal system. Political prisoners charged under the N.S.L. have already been routinely denied bail, subjected to months of pre-trial detention, and deprived of the right to a jury trial. The new law further undermines these procedural rights by allowing the police to not only extend the period of detention without charge from the current 48 hours to a further 14 days, but also limit suspects’ access to counsel.
In addition to those facing political persecution, international businesses and Hong Kongers not directly involved in politics will also feel the impact of Article 23, as the law intensifies existing censorship. Following the N.S.L., the Hong Kong government forced major media outlets, such as Stand News and Apple Daily, to shut down. With the passage of Article 23, investigative journalism and reporting on “sensitive” political issues – given the broad definitions of “state secrets” and “sedition” – become even riskier. Article 23’s chilling effect on the freedom of expression extends to the Hong Kong diaspora globally, as the new law applies to Hong Kong residents anywhere in the world. The law’s extraterritorial implications will undoubtedly set the stage for heightened transnational repression.
The S.A.R. government expedited the passage of Article 23 despite mounting international pressure to uphold human rights. The U.N. Human Rights Committee issued a list of recommendations in 2022, urging the S.A.R. government to prioritize human rights. During the Universal Periodic Review on China in January this year, eight U.N. member states also called on the People’s Republic of China to repeal or review the N.S.L. Despite these clear and urgent appeals, the S.A.R. government opted to expedite the passage of Article 23 – clearing all legislative hurdles within 50 days of the initial public consultation.
We call on governments around the world and the international community to:
Impose sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials responsible for undermining the rule of law in Hong Kong, particularly those involved in the passage of the two pieces of “national security” legislation;
Review the status of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices globally, with an eye towards shuttering their operations;
Offer asylum and other humanitarian pathways and provide temporary travel documents to Hong Kong human-rights defenders, especially those who have been labeled by S.A.R. authorities as “absconders” and are likely to face passport cancellation in the near future.
Signatories (in alphabetical order):
29 Principles
AfricaHongKongFrance (AHKF)
Arizona for Hong Kong
ARTICLE 19
Asian Lawyers Network (ALN)
Assembly of Citizens’ Representatives, Hong Kong
Association of Cosmopolitan Culture Action Taichung
Association of Hong Kongers in Western Australia
Athenai Institue
Aus-Hong Kong Connex Inc
Australia Capital Hong Kong Association
Australia Hong Kong Link
Australia Tibet Council
Australian and New Zealand Alliance for Victims of the Chinese Communist Regime
Bay Area Friends of Tibet
Befria Hongkong (Sweden)
Birmingham HongKongers
Blossom Community HK CIC
Bonham Tree Aid CIC
Bristol Hongkongers
Britons in Hong Kong
Campaign For Uyghurs
Canada-Hong Kong Link
Center For Uyghur Studies
Chicago Solidarity with Hong Kong (CSHK)
Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD)
Coalition of Students Resisting China
Committee For Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation
Committee to Protect Journalists
Czechs Support Tibet
Democracy for Hong Kong (D4HK)
Dialogue China
European Belarus Foundation
European Values Center for Security Policy
Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.
Finnish Hongkongers
Flow HK
Formosan Association for Human Rights
Frankfurt Stands With Hong Kong
Free Tibet
Free Uyghur Now
Freedom House
Freiheit für Hongkong e.V. (FfHK)
Friends of Hong Kong (Calgary)
Fundacíon Para la Libertad de Nicaragua
Germany Stands with Hong Kong
Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities
Grupo de Apoio ao Tibete - Portugal
HKersUnited
Hong Kong Aid
Hong Kong Affairs Association of Berkeley
Hong Kong Committee in Norway
Hong Kong Democracy Council
Hongkonger Community Center (HKCC Brisbane)
Hongkonger in Deutschland e.V.
Hongkongers in Britain (HKB)
HongKongers in Leeds
Hong Kongers in San Diego
Hong Kongers in San Francisco Bay Area
Hong Kong Forum, Los Angeles
Hong Kong International Alliance Brisbane (HKIA Brisbane)
Hong Kong Media Overseas (HKMO)
Hong Kong Outlanders in Taiwan
Hong Kong Scots
Hong Kong Social Action Movements in Boston
Hong Kong Student Advocacy Group - NYU
Hong Kong Watch
Human Rights in China
Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT)
Humanitarian China
Humanosh USA
India Tibet Friendship Society NAGPUR
Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte (IGFM)
International Tibet Network
Khmer Movement for Democracy
KONGcentric
Lady Liberty Hong Kong (LLHK)
Lamp of Liberty
Le Comité pour la Liberté à Hong-Kong
Liberté au Tibet (France)
Lion Rock Café (New York)
Manchester Stands With Hong Kong
McMaster Stands With Hong Kong
New School for Democracy (NSD Taiwan)
New Yorkers Supporting Hong Kong (NY4 HK)
North America Taiwanese Professors’ Association (NATPA)
Northern California Hong Kong Club
North East Hongkongers Club - U.K.
Norwegian Tibet Committee
Nottingham Stands With Hong Kong
NYC852HKER
Ontario Hong Kong Youth Action
PMGI [Peace Media & Good Governance Institute]
Power to Hongkongers
Reading UK Stands with HK
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Santa Barbara Friends of Tibet
Scottish Hongkongers
SEArious For HKG (Seattle)
South Sudan Democratic Alliance (SSDA)
Southampton Hongkongers
Stand with HK@JPN
Students for a Free Tibet International
Students for a Free Tibet - Boston
Students for a Free Tibet- India
Students for a Free Tibet - Japan
Students for a Free Tibet - Middletown High School
Students for a Free Tibet - Minnesota
Students for a Free Tibet - New York/New Jersey
Students for a Free Tibet -Toronto
Students for Hong Kong
Sutton Hong Kong Culture & Art Society
Swedish Tibet Committee
Swiss Tibetan Friendship Association
Taiwan Association for Human Rights
Taiwan East Turkestan Association (TETA)
Taiwan Forever Association
Taiwan Hong Kong Association
Taiwan Labour Front
Taiwan Youth Association for Transitional Justice and Kiōng-Seng
Taiwanese Association In Japan
Texans Supporting Hong Kong (TX4HK)
Tibet Initiative Deutschland e.V.
Tibet Justice Center
Tibet Solidarity
Tibet Support Group Ireland
Tibet Support Committee, Denmark
Tibetan Youth Association in Europe (TYAE)
Uniting HongKongers (Australia)
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO)
US Hongkongers Club
Uyghur Academy International
Uyghur American Association
Uyghur Center for Human Rights and Democracy
Uyghur Human Rights Project
Vancouver Activists of Hong Kong (VAHK)
Vancouver Hong Kong Forum Society
Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement (VSSDM)
Victoria Hongkongers Association (Australia)
Washingtonians Supporting Hong Kong (DC4HK)
We The Hongkongers
Winnipeg Hong Kong Concern
World Federation of Taiwanese Associations
World Liberty Congress
World Uyghur Congress
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