Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned on June 29 that Beijing has restructured Hong Kong's governance in a way that reduces accountability and tightens social control. The new system answers to the Chinese Communist Party leadership rather than Hong Kong's people, and builds on the existing "draconian" national security regime.

Elaine Pearson, Asia director at HRW, stated:

Hong Kong's highly repressive national security regime and bureaucracy have erased long-protected rights and cast a deeply troubling shadow over its future. As Beijing continues to radically transform Hong Kong, the deadly Tai Po housing complex fire illustrates the tragic consequences of a society that has lost its ability to hold the powerful accountable.

The reshaping has fundamentally changed the institutions of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). All power now lies with institutions that report to the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. The new Legislative Council is comprised of individuals with deep ties to the Chinese state, including 45 people who hold positions in Chinese state-owned enterprises, and numerous former police officers.

The government has also allocated HK$5 billion (approximately USD$638 million) to national security. There is no public information about how this money is used, and there has been increased secrecy in arrests and police operations.

These changes have been consolidated in the six years since the National Security Law was imposed in June 2020. This law has led to the arrests of protestors, activists and former opposition lawmakers, as well as shutting down numerous pro-democracy news sources. Prominent democracy advocates have been imprisoned, including Jimmy Lai and Joshua Wong.

HRW emphasized that the response to the Tai Po fire, which left 168 dead, demonstrates how this security apparatus functions to suppress dissent. Seven people involved in a recent renovation of the housing complex were criminally charged, but critics who called for a wider investigation into government negligence were silenced and even detained.

The rights group further stated that the national security framework has led to censorship of art and film, and many businesses have been targeted by the authorities with bureaucratic harassment if they are seen as holding pro-democracy values.

These changes are also now entrenched in the education system. The Education Bureau has instituted a curriculum that teaches the "values" of national security and patriotism, and seeks to vilify the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong before the crackdown. When these changes were proposed in 2024, one anonymous educator raised concerns, saying: "China has historical problems and existing ones. We need to face up to them for the country to progress."

Pearson said that these far-reaching consequences expose the false promises of the Chinese government:

The Chinese government dishonestly claims the national security regime targets only a small minority of people, but in reality it has turned the city into a security fortress, leaving people powerless. Foreign governments should keep speaking out about Hong Kong, and not forget that it is the ordinary people who fought so hard for universal suffrage and basic rights who suffer the most.

Other organizations, such as Amnesty International, have joined HRW in expressing ongoing concern over national security enforcement in the HKSAR.

From JURIST, June 30. Used with permission.

See our last report on the National Security regime in Hong Kong.