Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC) is a Washington, DC-based

nonpartisan Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

(

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

) with a stated mission of "protect ng

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

’s basic freedoms, autonomy, and the rule of law." HKDC's research and political work focuses on "educational outreach, community empowerment, and policy advocacy."

History

HKDC was founded amid the

2019 Hong Kong protests Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

as a platform for diasporic Hong Kongers in the United States to advocate for Hong Kong's democratic development and draw attention to related human rights issues. Founding members of HKDC included

Nathan Law Nathan Law Kwun-chung ( zh, link=no, t=羅冠聰; born 13 July 1993) is an activist and politician from Hong Kong. As a former student leader, he has been chairman of the Representative Council of the Lingnan University Students' Union (LUSU ...

, a former Hong Kong Legislative Councilor, Victoria Tin-bor Hui, a professor of political science at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, and the Hong Kong organizers Anna Yeung-Cheung and Joseph Ng. In September 2021, Brian Leung Kai-ping became executive director of HKDC. Alex Chow Yong-kang became board chair.

Advocacy work

Since its launch, HKDC has advocated for the passage of the

Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 (HKHRDA)Naomi Xu ElegantThe U.S. Senate Passed 2 Bills Supporting Hong Kong Protesters. But They Might Do More Harm Than Good, ''Fortune'' (November 20, 2019). (; ) is a United States federal ...

, PROTECT Hong Kong Act and

Hong Kong Autonomy Act The Hong Kong Autonomy Act is legislation passed by the United States Congress following the enactment in June 2020 by the Chinese Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the Hong Kong national security law. The Act was signed ...

, economic sanctions and visa bans on Chinese and Hong Kong officials undermining Hong Kong's autonomy and human rights, and additional legislation in Congress including immigration and refugee protection for Hong Kongers. HKDC's staff, board members, and advisors have also testified in front of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

Hong Kong-related legislation

HKDC has issued statements & briefing documents in support of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, the PROTECT Hong Kong Act, and the Hong Kong Autonomy Act, as well as various iterations of the broad-based Hong Kong People's Freedom and Choice Act and the immigration-focused Hong Kong Safe Harbor Act.

2021 escape of five Hong Kong fugitives

In January 2021, HKDC assisted in the rescue of five Hong Kong protesters by sponsoring the first set of humanitarian parole visas to the US. The five men, age 18–26, fled by boat to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

in July 2020, soon after China imposed the

Hong Kong national security law The Hong Kong national security law, officially the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a piece of national security legislation concerning Hong Kong. It ...

on June 30, 2020.

Response by Chinese government

Chinese authorities imposed sanctions on HKDC and others in July 2021, in response to the implementation of U.S. sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials advocated for by HKDC.

Research

HKDC maintains a research team, which publishes reports on digital authoritarianism,

political persecution Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

, and other human rights issues in Hong Kong.

Political prisoners in Hong Kong

HKDC maintains a publicly available database of political prisoners in Hong Kong, tracking politically motivated arrests made under the National Security Law as well as existing statutes concerning unlawful assembly, incitement, and rioting. According to HKDC, there are 1,163 political prisoners in Hong Kong as of September 2022.

Data privacy in Hong Kong

In collaboration with the

Open Technology Fund The Open Technology Fund (OTF) is an American nonprofit corporation that aims to support global Internet freedom technologies. Its mission is to "support open technologies and communities that increase free expression, circumvent censorship, and ...

and cybersecurity research firm 7ASecurity, HKDC conducted a penetration test and privacy audit of the Hong Kong government's

LeaveHomeSafe LeaveHomeSafe () is a digital contact tracing app launched by the Hong Kong Government on 16 November 2020 to conduct contact tracing in Hong Kong. It can be used as a companion of the Hong Kong Health Code system for registered users. The app ...

COVID-19

contact tracing In public health, contact tracing is the process of identifying persons who may have been exposed to an infected person ("contacts") and subsequent collection of further data to assess transmission. By tracing the contacts of infected individua ...

app. The report found a number of major vulnerabilities in the LeaveHomeSafe app, contradicting claims by the Hong Kong government that the app had been previously audited to address concerns over users' data privacy.

Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit

On 25 October 2022, HKDC released a report titled "Business Not As Usual," which criticized executives going to the

Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit The Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit is a financial summit to be hosted in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), scheduled for 1–3 November 2022. Background The initiative was announced by Financial Secretary Paul C ...

(GFLIS) and stating that global finance leaders attending the summit would be "lending credibility not only to the government's whitewashing campaign, but also to Beijing's handpicked Chief Executive of Hong Kong, John Lee, who is scheduled to open the GFLIS with 'welcoming remarks.'" On the same day, HKDC launched a database tracking international companies' cooperation with the Hong Kong government. Hours after the report and database were published, the Hong Kong government blocked portions of HKDC's website on some of Hong Kong's major mobile networks and internet service providers. In response, an HKDC spokesperson said: "HKDC condemns the Hong Kong government's concerted efforts to erode internet freedom, among the many freedoms Hongkongers have been stripped of over the past years."

Community engagement

HKDC has stated an interest in serving as a diaspora-building organization for Hong Kong immigrants and refugees in the United States. In the past, HKDC has funded a number of Hong Kong diaspora-related events and business projects.

Revolution of Our Times screening tour

In 2021 and 2022, HKDC hosted a 20-city nationwide screening tour for the film Revolution of Our Times, a 2021 documentary about the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests.

Hong Kong Summit

In July 2022, HKDC partnered with

Stand With Hong Kong Stand with Hong Kong ("SWHK"), an abbreviation of the official name "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.", is an independent grassroot political organisation dedicated to fighting for freedom of Hong Kong. Co-founded during the 2019-20 H ...

to host a 3-day summit of Hong Kong diaspora activists, human rights researchers, and China policy experts.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.hkdc.us/ 501(c)(3) organizations Charities based in Washington, D.C. Foreign policy political advocacy groups in the United States Hong Kong 2014 Hong Kong protests 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests Human rights Organizations established in 2019 Political organizations based in the United States