Hong Kong Watch Briefing on Human Rights Developments: July 2025
This briefing describes developments in Hong Kong in July 2025 focusing on the rapid deterioration of human rights in the city following the imposition of the National Security Law and the passage of Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
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Executive Summary
In July, Hong Kong authorities intensified legal and institutional repression under the National Security Law. The government fast-tracked controversial prison rule amendments enabling restrictions on legal and clergy visits and broadening state surveillance inside detention facilities.
New arrests for minor acts of dissent and mass surveillance expansion reinforced concerns over the erosion of civil liberties.
Overseas, national security police issued HK$200,000 bounties against 15 individuals linked to the symbolic “Hong Kong Parliament,” sparking international condemnation. Meanwhile, the appeal trial of the 47 Democrats began, drawing criticism over judicial fairness.
A long-awaited bill proposing limited same-sex partnership rights entered LegCo, but faced backlash from pro-establishment lawmakers.
Cultural and civic space continued to shrink, with independent book fairs, concerts, and LGBTQ events cancelled amid vague accusations of “soft resistance.”
In the UK, transnational repression concerns grew as police reportedly asked a Hong Kong activist to self-censor, while the British government moved to amend its extradition law, raising fears among the diaspora.
香港監察香港人權狀況簡報：2025年7月
香港人權狀況在《國家安全法》實施及《維護國家安全條例》（俗稱23條）通過後急速惡化，這份簡報記錄了2025年7月香港的事態發展。
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摘要
今年7月，香港當局加強《國安法》下的法律和制度打壓。政府火速刊憲修訂《監獄規則》，限制律師和神職人員探訪在囚人士，並准許開啟律師寄予在囚人士的信件。
警方因輕微異見行為而拘捕多人，又將於兩年內在公眾地方安裝4,000組閉路電視，令外界更加擔憂公民自由受損。
國安處懸紅20萬港元通緝15名與「香港議會」有關的海外港人，引起國際社會譴責。同時，47人案上訴聆訊開始，有上訴方批評被告沒有得到公平審訊。
立法會審議《同性伴侶關係登記條例草案》，多名建制派議員表明反對。
香港文化和公民空間持續萎縮，獨立書展、演唱會和LGBTQ活動因「軟對抗」的模糊指控而被取消。
英國方面，跨國鎮壓憂慮與日俱增。英國政府着手修訂《2003年引渡法》，令海外港人擔心不已，另有報導指，警方要求香港社運人士劉珈汶自我審查。
Photo: inmediahk, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons