UDHR violations in Hong Kong | Teen Ink

UDHR violations in Hong Kong

June 2, 2021
By Anonymous

"It's not illegal for people to organise and plan together for a winning strategy," said Victoria Hui, a Notre Dame University politics professor. However, this isn’t true for Gwyneth Ho and many other Hong Kong politicians, journalists, and activists who have been arrested for just that. Their UDHR to express themselves, engage in government and receive a fair trial are being attacked. Hong Kong citizens can no longer expect to have fundamental human rights and express themself freely because of the new national security law passed by the Chinese government.


Gwyneth Ho started her career as a journalist. She became known as the "stand news sister" after reporting on an attack on protestors on July 21st, 2019, despite being beaten by the attackers. She felt she couldn't do enough to fight as a journalist, so when the crackdowns against democracy to integrate Hong Kong with China continued and intensified in Hong Kong, she decided to run for office to do more for Hong Kong. Despite receiving 26,802 votes in the primary elections, she and several other candidates were disqualified for allegedly failing to support or embrace basic law, pledge allegiance to SAR(special admin active regions of china), and follow the national security law. The Chinese government practically threw them out of their own election for not supporting them, violating UDHRs to participate in government (21). Then she was arrested.


China passed their new national security law without the support of local authorities and arrested Gwyneth Ho and other journalists, activists and politicians for subversion of national security with a sentence of life imprisonment. However, the law is broad enough to consider anything a subversion or threat to national security. The United Nations has expressed concern about the law's "discriminatory or coercive reading and implementation, which could jeopardise human rights." and it has. The national security legislation has been used to weaken and interfere with UDHRs, sabotage Hong Kong's elections, and arrest politicians, journalists, and activists like Gwyneth Ho. They are just defending their UDHRs and speaking out. The national security law is essentially a law to arrest, deter and silence those against the Chinese government and trial them in mainland China.


Torture and other human rights violations pose a serious threat to mainland detainees. During the 2015 lawyers crackdown, human rights lawyer Li Heping was detained and beaten, drugged, and shocked. In the trial with Gwyneth Ho and other activists, protestors and politicians, many passed out as the trial dragged on and had to be hospitalised. The trial ended with a couple bailed, but then the court reverted that decision without reason. Her second trial is coming up, and many expect her to be sentenced to life imprisonment due to a judge under intense political pressure. 



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