Human rights report on HK ‘ full of bias’

▶ UN body ‘ beyond its authority’ to urge repeal of national security law

The latest report from a UN human rights body over the situation in Hong Kong is full of bias, subjectivity and double standards, and it goes beyond the scope of its authority, as it urged that the National Security Law ( NSL) for Hong Kong be repealed, Chinese officials and experts said, following the UN Human Rights Committee’s release of a report claiming “grave concerns” over the NSL for Hong Kong.

After the report was released, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ( HKSAR) government published a response of about 4,300 words late on Wednesday night, saying that it is completely dismayed that the committee continues to express unsubstantiated criticisms toward Hong Kong despite the city’s delegation’s efforts to address concerns and clarify misunderstandings of the human rights situation in Hong Kong.

In response to the criticism of the NSL for Hong Kong, as the committee underscored the shortcomings of the law “including the lack of clarity of ‘ national security’ and the possibility of transferring cases from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland,” a spokesperson for the HKSAR government said that as national security always falls within the purview of the central authorities, “our country has the right to legislate for the matter under the ‘ one country, two systems’ principle.”

There are numerous laws in the Western countries dealing with various kinds of national security threats, particularly with regard to terrorism, and these laws are quite strict, said Lau Siu- kai, deputy head of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies. “By comparison, the NSL for Hong Kong is not as harsh and only covers four types of universally recognized national security threats.”

It should be stressed that during the adoption of the NSL, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ( ICCPR) was fully taken into consideration in the legislative process, with an emphasis placed on the fact that the principle of human rights protection must be observed when safeguarding national security, the government’s spokesperson said.

China is not a party to the ICCPR, but since the return of Hong Kong and Macao to the motherland, the ICCPR remains effective in these two SARs in accordance with the Basic Law, said Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday.

The committee called for the withdrawal of the NSL for Hong Kong, which exceeded its scope of authority, as such an opinion has no legal binding force, said Zhu Ying, a professor of the National Human Rights Education and Training Base of Southwest University of Political Science and Law. Zhu said that if the committee considers that the fulfillment of the ICCPR is not good in Hong Kong and Macao, it could lay out suggestions, but it can’t ask a sovereign state to withdraw its legislation, as that is interfering in China’s internal affairs.