HKSAR Government Rejects Human Rights Watch Report

A new Human Rights Watch Report paints “a distorted picture of the situation in Hong Kong, which remains one of the world’s freest societies”, said a HKSAR Government spokesman on September 9.

The spokesman refuted doubts raised in the report about the commitment of the Central Authorities to implement ‘One Country, Two Systems’, saying, “In Hong Kong, our freedoms – of speech, of the press, of assembly, of demonstration and in many other areas – are constitutionally protected by the Basic Law and supported by the rule of law upheld by an independent judiciary.

“Anyone who visits Hong Kong will be able to see for themselves that we exercise these freedoms on a daily basis.”

Pointing out that the freedom of Hong Kong society is internationally acknowledged, the spokesman said that, “The Central Government also supports the HKSAR Government’s efforts to safeguard the freedom of expression and of the press in accordance with the law.”

The spokesman emphasized the Hong Kong SAR Government’s commitment to open and fair elections. 

“Although universal suffrage will not be introduced in 2007 and 2008 for the election of the Chief Executive and of LegCo, there is scope to further open up the electoral arrangement for those elections.

“The community will continue to play an important role in Hong Kong’s constitutional development. The Constitutional Development Task Force chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration will endeavour to find common ground and build consensus as we take forward our constitutional development process.”


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