Hong Kong Watch Briefing on Human Rights Developments: July 2026

This briefing describes developments in Hong Kong in July 2026 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

July 2026 saw national security police carry out a third round of raids on independent bookstores in four months, arresting five people and hauling away boxes of seized books. Jailed activist Joshua Wong is also set to plead guilty in a second national security case, one that could keep him behind bars well beyond his existing sentence.

Hong Kong’s courts handed down a string of national security and sedition rulings during the month. A waiter with an intellectual disability was jailed for promoting a pro-Taiwan party, two men with autism pleaded guilty to secession over their membership of a banned independence group, a former law student was sentenced after the Department of Justice successfully appealed her 2021 acquittal, and a teenager was convicted of sedition for anti-government graffiti scrawled in a mall toilet, caught after a police stakeout.

Enforcement also intensified around politically sensitive dates, with stop-and-searches along the banned protest march route on the handover anniversary, while tax audits and permit fines added regulatory pressure on bookstores already facing criminal scrutiny.

Civil society suffered another loss with the death of bookseller Lam Wing-kee, once abducted by Chinese agents, who died in exile in Taiwan. Meanwhile Chief Executive John Lee used the handover anniversary to push forward the Northern Metropolis megaproject, and authorities set November dates for “patriots only” Election Committee polls.

Abroad, transnational repression remained a recurring theme: freed democrat Wu Chi-wai narrowly avoided removal from the UK before being granted a six-month stay, the US allowed its national emergency on Hong Kong under Executive Order 13936 to lapse, Thailand blocked a wanted activist from resettling in Canada, and a new Chinese ethnic-unity law extended Beijing’s legal reach over the diaspora.

香港監察香港人權狀況簡報：2026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2026年7月香港的事態發展。

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摘要

2026年7月，香港警方國安處在四個月內第三次突擊搜查獨立書店，拘捕五人並撿走多箱書籍。在囚社運人士黃之鋒擬在第二宗國安案中認罪，這宗案件可能會令他遲遲未能出獄，遠超現有刑期。

香港法庭本月內頒布多宗國安及煽動案件裁決。23歲男子因宣傳台灣「復國黨」而被判入獄；兩名男子因參與「香港民主建國聯盟」而被控「串謀分裂國家」罪，兩人承認控罪；前法律系學生在2021年被裁定暴動罪不成立，律政司之後上訴得直，案件重審後女生被判囚；18歲男子因在商場廁所塗寫反政府口號而被判煽動罪成，警方在廁格埋伏拘捕他。

警方亦在政治敏感日子前後加強執法。主權移交29週年當日，警方在港島一帶沿着現已被禁止的示威遊行路線截查多人。另一邊廂，當局對獨立書店查稅，又以違反許可規定為由判處罰款，為本已面對刑事檢控的書店增添監管壓力。

公民社會再次經歷失去，曾被中國特工綁架的銅鑼灣書店店長林榮基在台灣流亡期間去世。同時，行政長官李家超利用主權移交週年推進「北部都會區」大型發展計劃，選舉委員會亦將在今年11月舉行「愛國者治港」換屆選舉。

海外方面，跨國鎮壓依然肆虐：47人案獲釋民主派人士胡志偉險被遣返香港，現獲准在英國居留六個月；美國不再延續第13936號行政命令下的「涉港國家緊急狀態」；泰國阻止被通緝異見人士張信燕前往加拿大接納安置；中國《民族團結進步促進法》擴展北京對離散族群的法律影響力。

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