Hong Kong Watch launches groundbreaking new report on threats to freedom of religion or belief in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Watch will launch a major new report on threats to freedom of religion or belief in Hong Kong today, which finds that the draconian National Security Law has had a chilling effect on religious believers in the city, including widespread self-censorship in sermons and other religious activities, threats to faith-based schools and the increasing introduction of Beijing’s campaign of ‘Sinicization’ of religion.
The first of its kind, the report, titled Sell Out My Soul: The Impending Threats to Freedom of Religion or Belief in Hong Kong, provides an in-depth analysis and serves as an early warning signal and a wake-up call to the international community to closely monitor further developments in regard to freedom of religion or belief in Hong Kong.
Launched today in the European Parliament in Brussels, the new report will be presented later this month at launch events in Washington, DC, in the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa and the Houses of Parliament in London.
The Foreword to the report is written by Fiona Bruce MP from the United Kingdom and Ambassador Sam Brownback from the United States, in their capacity as Patrons of Hong Kong Watch. Mrs Bruce currently serves as the UK Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for freedom of religion or belief, and Ambassador Brownback was the US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom from 2018-2021.
In their Foreword, Mrs Bruce and Ambassador Brownback write:
“Freedom of religion or belief is about so much more than simply the right to go to a place of worship once a week. … It is, as expressed in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a fully-fledged expression of conscience. Interpreted in this way, this basic and fundamental human right is clearly under increasing and intensifying threat in Hong Kong, as this new and excellent report by Hong Kong Watch details. As Patrons of Hong Kong Watch and as active leaders in the global movement for religious freedom, we endorse this report wholeheartedly and support its recommendations … We totally support Hong Kong Watch’s call for the world to pay attention to Hong Kong, to monitor the impact on religious freedom of the continuous dismantling of overall basic freedoms … Together with our colleagues in similar roles across the globe, we shall be watching Hong Kong – and we will be ready to act when needed.”
Authored by Hong Kong Watch’s co-founder and Chief Executive Benedict Rogers, who has specialised in freedom of religion or belief in Asia for almost three decades, the report is based on first-hand interviews and background conversations with several Christian clergy and laity from Hong Kong from multiple church traditions and denominations, as well as with several scholars and experts who specialise in freedom of religion or belief. It also draws on publicly available sources, including media reports and information published by other organisations, but always corroborated and verified with expert sources.
The report contains several recommendations for the international community, particularly a call to closely monitor upcoming legislation regarding Article 23 of the Basic Law, the crowdfunding law, and other possible legislative changes which might impact freedom of religion or belief.
In particular, the report recommends that:
those governments which have official envoys dedicated to freedom of religion or belief should report annually on the situation of freedom of religion or belief in Hong Kong, as the US State Department already does.
All 42 countries within the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA) should monitor closely and report regularly on developments in Hong Kong.
The United Kingdom’s Six-Monthly Report annual report on Hong Kong should include the situation of freedom of religion or belief.
The European Union’s annual report on Hong Kong should include the situation of freedom of religion or belief.
The international community should also reiterate the UN Human Rights Committee’s recommendations to the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, in its review of Hong Kong’s obligations under the ICCPR, that the National Security Law and sedition law should be repealed and the authorities should refrain from enforcing them immediately.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and the Special Rapporteur on the right to education should also pay close attention to the situation in Hong Kong.
Bob Fu, a well-known campaigner for religious freedom in China and President of China Aid, said:
“This is a very objective report based on extensive investigation and research, with a fair, balanced legal and fact-based analysis. Policy-makers and all those who care about religious freedom and human rights should read this report. I hope it will be made available to read in multiple languages. It details how freedom of religion or belief in Hong Kong is being violated and endangered through concrete examples and cases with legal analysis.”
Benedict Rogers said:
“We are pleased to bring this report to the world’s attention. To our knowledge, it is the first substantial report on threats to freedom of religion or belief in Hong Kong, and for that reason we hope it will be widely read and acted upon. Almost all other freedoms in Hong Kong have already been dismantled or undermined, and the erosion of freedom of religion or belief, as this report shows, is already underway, not in dramatic, visible ways but in subtle, insidious but nevertheless consistent and clear ways. We call on the international community to heed the warning signs and act before it is too late.”
The first launch will be held in the European Parliament today, hosted by former Foreign Minister of Poland Anna Fotyga MEP, at which Benedict Rogers and Hong Kong Christian pastor Roy Chan, of Good Neighbour North District Church, now in exile in the United Kingdom, will speak.
The report will be launched in Washington, DC at several events next week, including at the Hudson Institute’s China Centre, led by Miles Yu, former China advisor to previous US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on 15 November; in Ottawa on 21 November in the Parliament of Canada hosted by Hong Kong Watch Patron Garnett Genuis MP; and in the Houses of Parliament in London on 30 November hosted by our Patron Lord Alton of Liverpool. Further details of each launch will be issued in due course.
This project is funded by a grant from the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD).
香港監察新報告剖析香港宗教自由所面臨威脅 呼籲國際社會注意警告信號並採取行動
香港監察今天將發表重要新報告，主題圍繞香港宗教或信仰自由所面臨的威脅。報告發現，苛法《國安法》已對香港宗教信徒造成寒蟬效應，包括講道及其他宗教活動普遍存在自我審查的現象、對信仰學校的威脅和北京加強推動宗教「中國化」的情況。
這份報告題為《出賣我靈：香港宗教或信仰自由即將面臨的威脅》（Sell Out My Soul: The Impending Threats to Freedom of Religion or Belief in Hong Kong），是同類中的首份。報告提供深入分析，並向國際社會發出預先警告和警示，呼籲密切關注香港宗教或信仰自由的進一步發展。
這份新報告今天率先在布魯塞爾歐洲議會發布，另將於本月稍後時間在華盛頓特區舉行的發布會、渥太華加拿大國會和倫敦英國國會宣讀。
報告的前言由英國國會議員布斯（Fiona Bruce）和美國大使布朗巴克（Sam Brownback）以香港監察贊助人的身分撰寫。前者目前擔任英國首相宗教或信仰自由特使，後者則於2018年至2021年擔任美國國際宗教自由事務無任所大使。
這份報告由香港監察共同創辦人兼行政總監羅傑斯（Benedict Rogers）撰寫，他專門研究亞洲地區宗教或信仰自由將近三十年。報告根據親身訪談和背景對話而成，受訪者為來自多個教會傳統和宗派的數名香港基督教神職人員和平信徒，以及數名專門研究宗教或信仰自由的學者和專家。報告亦取材自公開資料，包括媒體報導和其他組織發布的資訊，全經專家證實和核實。
報告向國際社會提出數項建議，特別是呼籲密切關注即將推行的《基本法》第23條立法、眾籌法及其他可能影響宗教或信仰自由的潛在法例修訂。
著名中國宗教自由提倡者、對華援助協會（China Aid）主席傅希秋（Bob Fu）表示：
「這是非常客觀的報告，建基於廣泛調查和研究，分析公平合理、不偏不倚，符合法律和事實。政策制訂者和所有關心宗教自由和人權的人都應該閱讀這份報告，我希望它將有多語言版本。報告透過具體例子和個案，配以法律分析，詳細闡述了侵害和危及香港宗教或信仰自由的方式。」
羅傑斯表示：
「我們很高興能夠提請全世界關注這份報告。據我們所知，這是首份關於香港宗教或信仰自由所面臨威脅的重大報告，因此我們希望廣大社會能加以閱讀並採取行動。香港幾乎所有其他自由都已被摧毀或破壞，正如報告所示，對宗教或信仰自由的逐步破壞亦已開始，不是以戲劇般、顯眼的方式，而是以隱晦、潛伏但仍一致且清晰的方式。我們呼籲國際社會注意警告信號並趁早採取行動。」
首場發布會將於今天在歐洲議會舉行，由波蘭前外交部長、歐洲議會議員福蒂加（Anna Fotyga）主持，羅傑斯和現時流亡英國的好鄰舍北區教會前堂主任、英倫好鄰舍教會陳凱興（Roy Chan）傳道將在會上發言。
報告將於下週在華府多個活動中發布，其中包括11月15日在美國智庫哈德遜研究所（Hudson Institute）中國中心（China Center）舉行的活動，中國中心由前美國國務卿蓬佩奧（Mike Pompeo）的中國政策顧問余茂春（Miles Yu）帶領；11月21日在加拿大國會發布，由香港監察贊助人、加拿大國會議員Garnett Genuis主持；11月30日在英國國會發布，由香港監察贊助人奧爾頓勳爵（Lord Alton of Liverpool）主持。每場發布會的詳情將在適當時候公布。