Statement: Hong Kong Watch condemns expulsion of US journalists as “severe violation of Hong Kong’s Basic Law”

The expulsion of all US journalists working for the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the New York Timesin mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong is a major assault on press freedom and a severe violation of Hong Kong’s Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration, Hong Kong Watch said today.

As the co-signatory to the Sino-British Joint Declaration, an international treaty lodged at the United Nations which guarantees Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy under the “one country, two systems” principle for the first 50 years after the handover of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty, the United Kingdom has a responsibility to speak out against this breach.

Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, guarantees “freedom of speech, of the press and of publication” in Article 27, while Article 33 protects “freedom of choice of occupation”.

Benedict Rogers, co-founder and Chair of Hong Kong Watch, said: “Today’s announcement that China plans to expel American journalists from three of the world’s most influential media is an outrageous assault on press freedom. Coming at a time of a global pandemic which originated in China, and a period of serious political unrest in Hong Kong, this is a flagrant attempt by the Chinese regime to silence those who report the truth. Even more significantly, it is a severe violation of Hong Kong’s Basic Law and a grave breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The United Kingdom must lead the world in speaking out clearly and robustly against this.”

(Photo credit: Tom Grundy/HKFP)