Hong Kong Watch joins in solidarity with Hong Kongers in commemorating the anniversary of the 12 June 2019 protests

Hong Kong Watch joins with Hong Kongers throughout the world in commemorating the fourth anniversary of the 2019 anti-extradition law protests, and especially the demonstrations outside the Hong Kong Legislative Council on 12 June 2019.

On Sunday 11 June this year, our co-founder and Chief Executive Benedict Rogers will speak at a rally in Parliament Square in London from 15.00-17.00 GMT, alongside prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Nathan Law, Simon Cheng, Carmen Lau, Chung Ching Kwong, Isaac Cheng and others.

Benedict Rogers said:

“In 2019, 12 June was a key turning point for the protest movement against the proposed extradition law and for democracy. We pay tribute to the courageous protestors who risked their lives and their futures to defend the values of freedom, the rule of law, basic human rights and an open society, and the autonomy which Beijing had promised Hong Kong under an international treaty, the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Four years on, Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy have been completely dismantled, judicial independence eroded and the rule of law undermined, and we believe this anniversary is an important opportunity to remind the international community of the dramatic and rapid transformation of Hong Kong from open society to police state.

The international community must not ignore or forget Hong Kong. In particular, we must continue to shine a spotlight on the hundreds of political prisoners who remain in Hong Kong’s jails, those who are awaiting trial and those who have been silenced.

Due to the draconian National Security Law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing in 2020, it is now extremely dangerous for Hong Kongers to speak out in the way they used to, to protest, or to commemorate key anniversaries – and so those of us who have freedom outside Hong Kong have a profound responsibility to use our freedoms to speak out on behalf of Hong Kongers. 12 June is a reminder of the Hong Kong that used to be, and the struggle for freedom which we must not surrender.”