Our Campaigns
Our team works to defend fundamental freedoms and rule of law in Hong Kong through international advocacy and campaigns.
Since our launch in 2017, we have seen real success in campaigns ranging from calling the UK Government to offer a pathway to citizenship for BNOs through to lobbying for the US Congress to pass the Hong Kong Autonomy Act. We continue to push hard for international solidarity with Hong Kong. These are our current core campaigns:
International Lifeboat
We are calling on democratic partners who have pledged their support for Hong Kong and raised concern over the National Security Law to offer an insurance policy to Hong Kongers through actions to offer a lifeboat.
A number of international governments have stepped up: the British government have offered a pathway to citizenship for BNOs, the Canadian government have developed a young talent scheme, the Australian government have offered a pathway to citizenship for students, and the US government have offered Temporary Protected Status to Hong Kongers in the US. But there is more work to do.
Read more on the International Lifeboat Campaign here.
Read more on the BNO policy here.
Magnitsky Sanctions
As a response to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Hong Kong, we launched this campaign in 2019 to ask governments to introduce Magnitsky-style targeted sanctions against officials in the Chinese Communist Party, Hong Kong Government, Hong Kong Police Force, and the Chinese security apparatus who violate human rights in Hong Kong, particularly under the Hong Kong National Security Law.
Read more on the Sanctions campaign here.
Political Prisoners Campaign
A mass purge of Hong Kong’s democrats and protestors is under way. The National Security Law is being used to lock up and silence Hong Kong’s opposition. With thousands arrested under protest-related charges, we have been monitoring the developments, and are calling for the Hong Kong Government to Free All Political Prisoners.
Under the ‘Political Prisoners’ tab of our website, we include a database of political prisoners, profiles of democrats facing charges, and a rolling list of upcoming court dates.
Read more on the Political Prisoners campaign here.
Press Freedom Campaign
Since the introduction of the National Security Law in Hong Kong in June 2020, 18 journalists have been arrested and 3 news publications have been forced to close in six months’ time. The Hong Kong authorities have accused pro-democracy news publications who are independently owned and report the news without fear or favour of distributing “seditious” materials, as they attempt to stamp out any news publications that differ from the Chinese Communist Party’s official line.
11 former Apple Daily journalists have been arrested under the National Security Law for “collusion with foreign forces” and await trial with the possibility that they could face upwards to ten years in jail. The Hong Kong Police has confirmed it has a “wanted list” of journalists who they will arrest if they attempt to leave the city. As arrests of journalists continues and pressure from the government escalates, more than 11 media platforms including the prominent StandNews and Citizen News ceased operations. Given Carrie Lam’s announcement of her intention to introduce Article 23 national security legislation and a so- called “fake news” law, the remaining local news publications and journalists stand on the brink.
Responding to the ongoing crackdown on a free press in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Watch launches its global press freedom campaign to support local journalists in Hong Kong and call on lawmakers and likeminded governments to respond.
Read more on the Press Freedom Campaign here.
No Extradition to Hong Kong
To ensure no one has to face extradition to Hong Kong under the draconian and vaguely defined National Security Law, our team has been working with the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) to lobby governments to suspend their extradition treaties with Hong Kong since the launch of the campaign in 2020.
Read more on the No Extradition to Hong Kong campaign here.
United Nations Campaign
From the United Nations Secretary General through to the General Assembly or the Human Rights Council. There is more that could be done at the United Nations in order to strengthen the response to the deteriorating situation in Hong Kong.
The importance of mobilising action at the United Nations lies in the fact that the United Nations continues to carry significant soft power and moral force. Human rights lawyers at the United Nations are recognised as the leading experts worldwide. The events in Hong Kong must not be normalised as acceptable, and it is critical that global experts continue to underline where the Hong Kong government and Beijing are in breach of their international human rights commitments. Beijing spends millions on influence at the United Nations, it is time for democratic allies to counteract these influence strategies by ploughing in resources themselves.
Read more on the United Nations campaign here.
EU-China Campaign
Since the Summer of 2020, Hong Kong Watch has been campaigning against the adoption and ratification of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment, arguing that it would reward China with favoured access to European markets at a time when it is dismantling Hong Kong’s autonomy, violating international treaties, and undertaking gross human rights violations within its borders. We have also been calling for the EU to step up to help Hong Kongers through lifeboat measures and sanctions.
Read more on the EU-China campaign here.
Red Capital Campaign
In March 2021, Hong Kong Watch published a new report entitled: ‘Red Capital in Hong Kong: The Invisible Hand transforming the city’s politics.’ Following the release of the report, Hong Kong Watch has tracked and researched the growing rise of Western investment in ‘Red Capital’ and campaigns for greater transparency and debate around Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance influencing investments into China, increased weighting for human rights within Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance frameworks which influence global investments, and the introduction of regulation that will ensure no state-pension funds invest in stocks or bonds of Chinese companies complicit in gross human rights violations in Hong Kong and mainland China.
Read more on the Red Capital campaign here.