19 August 2020.
The Centre for Law and Democracy has joined a number of other organisations in issuing a Joint Statement condemning the adoption, on 30 June 2020, of the new national security law by the top legislative body in China and the subsequent active use of the law by Hong Kong authorities. These actions have seriously eroded respect for both democracy and freedom of expression in Hong Kong.
“The new law contains a number of vague restrictions on content that can be used to curtail perfectly legitimate forms of expression,” said Toby Mendel, Executive Director, CLD. “This was seen in the charges laid under the law against Jimmy Lai, founder of the popular journal, Apple Daily, as well as those against many others.”
The Joint Statement calls on the governments of China and Hong Kong to respect democracy and human rights in Hong Kong, noting that a failure to do so will undermine not only individual freedoms but also the stability and economic success of Hong Kong.
The Joint Statement is available at: Statement on Hong Kong.
For further information, please contact:
Toby Mendel
Executive Director
Centre for Law and Democracy
Email: toby@law-democracy.org
+1 902 431 3688
www.law-democracy.org
twitter: @law_democracy
