Hong Kong rights record under scrutiny as it marks China handover anniversary
HONG KONG: Hong Kong leader John Lee said on Tuesday (July 1) the city has become safer and more competitive as it marks its 28th year under Chinese rule, although critics including the EU decried the use of a "repressive" security law.
The former British colony was handed over to China in 1997 under a "One Country, Two Systems" governance model, which guaranteed key freedoms and a high degree of autonomy not enjoyed on the mainland.
July 1 in Hong Kong had been marked in previous years by demonstrations but authorities have cracked down on dissent after huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Lee said "high-level security to safeguard high-quality development" was a top priority for his administration, noting the need to integrate into China's economic blueprint.
The city this week also marked the fifth anniversary of Beijing's imposition of a sweeping national security law, under which 76 people have been convicted so far, imposed after the 2019 protests.
Lee's government enacted a separate security law of its own in 2024 that authorities say is needed to restore order.
"We have rebuilt a safe Hong Kong," Lee said in a speech.
However, the European Union said on Monday "the repressive use of the National Security Law has undermined confidence in the rule of law and Hong Kong's international reputation".
"The European Union regrets that additional national security legislation... introduced new offences, increased penalties and further empowered security authorities," it said in a statement.
The League of Social Democrats, one of Hong Kong's last remaining opposition parties, disbanded on Sunday citing "immense political pressure" and concern for the safety of its members.
It was the second pro-democracy party to announce plans to wind down this year, following the Democratic Party in February.
Authorities say that Hong Kong residents continue to enjoy rights and freedoms guaranteed under its Basic Law constitution, although such rights are not absolute. - AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
UK arrests three in Lucy Letby hospital probe
LONDON: British police on Tuesday said they had arrested three senior staff at the hospital where nurse Lucy Letby was found to have murdered seven babies, on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. Police launched a probe at the Countess of Chester Hospital (CoCH) in northwest England in 2023 after Letby was convicted and jailed for life for murders said to have taken place between 2015 and 2016. The probe aimed to find out whether the failure of hospital staff to act in the face of increasing deaths amounted to criminality. Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes said three people 'who were part of the senior leadership team at the CoCH in 2015-2016' were arrested on Monday on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. Hughes said the arrests, which were the first under the wider probe, had no impact on Letby's convictions. The three were not named and were released on bail. The Letby case shocked the nation during lengthy trials in 2023 and 2024, after which she was convicted for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more. Letby, from Hereford, western England, was charged in 2020 following a string of deaths at the hospital's neo-natal unit, but has always maintained her innocence. The prosecution said she attacked her vulnerable prematurely born victims, often during night shifts, by either injecting them with air, overfeeding them with milk or poisoning them with insulin. But a panel of international experts said in February that the evidence used to convict her was wrong, and it was more likely that the babies had died from natural causes or bad medical care. Her defence team has applied to the independent Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to probe whether there had been a possible miscarriage of justice in her two trials.
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
92-year-old UK man sentenced to life over 1967 murder
LONDON: A 92-year-old British man was on Tuesday jailed for life for a 1967 rape and murder, in the UK's oldest solved cold case. Ryland Headley, who was convicted of raping and killing 75-year-old Louisa Dunne after breaking into her house nearly 60 years ago, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 20 years at Bristol Crown Court in southwest England. After passing sentence, judge Derek Sweeting told Headley: 'You will never be released, you will die in prison.' He said that Headley, who was 34 at the time of the crime, had 'violated the sanctity and safety of Mrs Dunne's home where she had every right to feel secure. 'She must have experienced considerable pain and fear before her death.' The judge mentioned Headley's previous convictions for breaking into the homes of two elderly widows in 1977 and raping them. He was initially sentenced to life in jail for those convictions, which was later reduced to seven years on appeal. They showed 'chilling pattern of behaviour', the judge added. Police reopened Dunne's case in 2023 and matched DNA from the victim's skirt and other items from the original probe to Headley, who spent around two years in prison sentence for his 1977 crimes. Doughty Street Chambers, the legal team representing Headley, said it was Britain's oldest cold case murder -- an unsolved case for which new information emerges.
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
Kurdish PKK fighters to destroy weapons in ‘goodwill' act: commanders
SULAIMANIYAH: Fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party will soon destroy their weapons as a 'goodwill gesture' to signal their commitment to disarming after decades of conflict with Turkey, two commanders said. The planned disarmament marks a turning point in the militant group's transition from armed insurgency to political negotiation, as part of a broader effort to end one of the region's longest-running conflicts. The group declared an end to its armed campaign in May -- a conflict that has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984 and long strained Turkey's relations with its Kurdish population and regional neighbours. 'As a gesture of goodwill, a number of PKK fighters, who had taken part in fighting Turkish forces in recent years, will destroy or burn their weapons in a ceremony in the coming days,' the commander said, requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media. The move was confirmed by another commander who also spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity. The Kurdistan Workers' Party -- widely known by its Kurdish initials PKK -- has led a decades-long armed campaign for Kurdish rights in Turkey and is considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara and its Western allies. Representatives of political parties, local observers and the media will attend the ceremony, which will take place in the autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq. The commander said the PKK had yet to decide on the exact number of fighters -- men and women -- who would disarm, the location and the timing of the event. In recent months, the PKK has taken several historic steps, starting with a ceasefire and culminating in its formal dissolution announced on May 12. The shift followed an appeal by its founder Abdullah Ocalan, delivered in a letter from Imrali prison, on an island south of Istanbul, where he has been held in solitary confinement since 1999. The first commander said a new statement from Ocalan was expected soon. A delegation from the pro-Kurdish Turkish DEM party, which has played a key role in facilitating contacts between Ocalan and Ankara, is expected to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan next week before visiting Ocalan in prison. Most of the PKK's fighters have spent the past decade in the mountains of northern Iraq, where Turkey also maintains military bases and has carried out frequent operations against Kurdish fighters. Until now, there has been little detail about how the dissolution mechanism would work but Ankara has said it would carefully monitor the process to ensure full implementation.
