Hong Kong Watch is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in the United Kingdom that was established to monitor the conditions of human rights, freedoms and rule of law in Hong Kong. It was founded by British human rights activist Benedict Rogers on 11 December 2017, two months after he was barred from entering Hong Kong.

History

In the aftermath of the

2014 Hong Kong protests A series of sit-in street protests, often called the Umbrella Revolution and sometimes used interchangeably with Umbrella Movement, or Occupy Movement, occurred in Hong Kong from 26 September to 15 December 2014. The protests began after th ...

and Legislative Council oath-taking controversy, Benedict Rogers, a British human rights activist, intended to visit a group of imprisoned Hong Kong democracy activists. On 11 October 2017, Rogers was barred entry to Hong Kong. He arrived at

Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is an international airport on the island of Chek Lap Kok in western Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or Chek Lap Kok Airport, to distinguish it from its predec ...

on a flight from

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

but was escorted away by immigration officials and placed on a flight back to

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. He had previously been warned by a contact in the Chinese embassy in London that he might be refused entry to Hong Kong. Rogers, who lived in Hong Kong between 1997 and 2002, has criticised what Rogers says is Mainland China's increasing threat to democracy in Hong Kong and has campaigned against the imprisonment of pro-democracy activists

Joshua Wong Joshua Wong Chi-fung (; born 13 October 1996) is a Hong Kong Pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong), pro-democracy activist and politician. He served as secretary-general of the pro-democracy party Demosisto, Demosistō until it disbanded following i ...

, Nathan Law, Alex Chow and

Jimmy Lai Lai Chee-ying ( zh, t=黎智英; born 8 December 1947), also known as Jimmy Lai, is a Hong Kong businessman and politician. He founded Giordano (clothing), Giordano, an Asian clothing retailer, Next Digital (formerly Next Media), a Hong Kon ...

. British Foreign Secretary

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

demanded an explanation from the Hong Kong authorities and the Central Chinese government.

Hua Chunying Hua Chunying ( zh, s=华春莹; born 24 April 1970) is a Chinese diplomat who has been serving as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China since 2024. She most notably served as spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After graduating ...

, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, later responded that the move was within China's sovereignty and said: "Whether this person's trip to Hong Kong involved an intention to intervene in Hong Kong's internal affairs and judicial independence – he knows very well himself." The following day, Rogers announced he would form a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to monitor the rule of law and

human rights in Hong Kong Human rights protection is enshrined in the Hong Kong Basic Law, Basic Law and its Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap.383). By virtue of the Bill of Rights Ordinance and Basic Law Article 39, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rig ...

. Hong Kong Watch was launched at a reception hosted in Speaker's House, House of Commons in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

on 11 December 2017. The organisation appointed Johnny Patterson as its founding Director, with Rogers acting as Chair of Trustees It was established on grounds of the belief of the fact that under the

Sino-British Joint Declaration The Sino-British Joint Declaration was a treaty between the governments of the United Kingdom and People's Republic of China signed in 1984 setting the conditions in which Hong Kong was transferred to Chinese control and for the governance o ...

, the United Kingdom has a moral and legal obligation to speak out.

IPAC

In the summer of 2020, the leadership of Hong Kong Watch worked with human rights leaders such as Luke de Pulford to create the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a global pressure group, advocating for human rights in China, particularly with regards the

persecution of Uyghurs in China Since 2014, the government of the People's Republic of China has committed a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim minorities in Xinjiang which has often been characterized as persecution or as ...

and Democracy in Hong Kong.

New appointments in 2020

Benedict Rogers joined the staff team of the organisation in September 2020 as chief executive officer, with Patterson moving to Policy Director. The organisation also brought in veteran Labour party staffer Sam Goodman as senior policy advisor and Hong Kong activist in exile, Joey Siu, as an Associate based in Washington DC.

Blockage in Hong Kong

On 14 February 2022, it was reported that the site had been blocked by

Internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...

s in Hong Kong, including

PCCW PCCW Limited (formerly known as Pacific Century CyberWorks Limited) is a Hong Kong–based information and communication technology (ICT) and telecommunications company. The company is the major owner of telecommunications company HKT Limited, ...

, CMHK, HKBN, Netvigator, etc. Hong Kong Watch posted on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that they believed the action was enforced upon order from the police.

Mission

Hong Kong Watch was set up to provide independent, comprehensive analysis and thought leadership on freedom and human rights in Hong Kong.

Protest action at Acropolis of Athens

Three activists, including Hong Kong Watch Associate Joey Siu and Tibetan student Tsela Zoksang, were arrested at the

Acropolis of Athens The Acropolis of Athens (; ) is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, Greece, and contains the remains of several Ancient Greek architecture, ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, ...

on 17 October 2021, the day before the lighting of the

Olympic Torch The Olympic flame is a Olympic symbols, symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. The Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece, several months before the Olympic Games. This ceremony s ...

. Siu and Tsela Zoksang first attempted to unfurl a banner to protest the

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), were an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing, China, and surrounding areas wit ...

in Beijing; after the banner was taken away, they draped the Tibetan flag and the Hong Kong Revolution flag over scaffolding at the site and chanted slogans before they were arrested and charged for violating laws on protection of archeological sites. Siu and Tsela Zoksang were released the following day and allowed to leave Greece, but ordered to return in January 2022 to appear in court.

References

External links

* {{official website, https://www.hongkongwatch.org/ Human rights in Hong Kong Human rights organisations based in the United Kingdom Political organizations established in 2017 2017 establishments in the United Kingdom