Summers in Hong Kong are always long and scorching hot. But during this summer of discontent, the city known as the Fragrant Harbour has been plunged into a political and social inferno of unrest like never seen before. At the heart of the crisis are issues of human rights, and an unfulfilled promise of universal suffrage. It is the response to that issue which will be crucial in determining whether the inferno can be extinguished.
Australia has a key stake in the issues from a number of perspectives: from the large number of Australians living in Hong Kong directly affected; the significant financial interests between Australia and China; the spread of Hong Kong related protests across Australian universities; and the role of Australia in upholding human rights at home and overseas.
The match that lit the fire is clear. In February 2019, the Hong Kong Government proposed an Extradition Bill which would allow anyone in Hong Kong (whether a resident or not) accused of criminal offences in a jurisdiction, to be extradited to that jurisdiction despite the absence of a formal extradition agreement. The Bill which proposed to cover extradition to both Taiwan and mainland China, faced immense opposition from a diverse range of sectors in society such as lawyers, human rights NGOs, the business sector, foreign Governments, and the general public. The overwhelming concern was that for anyone extradited to mainland China, there would not be sufficient safeguards of their human rights, whether freedom from torture, or the right to a fair trial. The events led to the largest protests ever seen in Hong Kong, and perhaps some of the largest in the world, with 2 million people taking to the streets against the Bill on 16 June 2019.
Although this finally led the Hong Kong Government to suspend the Extradition Bill, rather than that calming the unrest, protests have only intensified and the crisis worsened. To understand why, it’s crucial to reflect on both the relationship between mainland China and Hong Kong, as well as what was promised to its people for decades.
Thirty five years ago in June 1984, Deng Xiaoping set out his inspiring vision for the future of Hong Kong after reunification with China in 1997. That vision was of China resuming sovereignty, but with a unique “one country, two systems” structure. Hong Kong would retain its unique identity with a high degree of autonomy, a distinct financial status, and a different legal system for 50 years until 2047.
The specifics of the arrangements for “one country, two systems” were adopted in 1990 under the Basic Law and came into effect in 1997. A key element of the Basic Law is that it sets out the fundamental human rights of the people in Hong Kong. Human rights are also protected under the Bill of Rights which implements into Hong Kong law most of the protections under the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Key human rights protected under the Basic Law and the Bill of Rights include the right to life; to be free from torture and slavery; the right to non-discrimination; rights relating to criminal processes and fair trials; freedom of expression; freedom of assembly; freedom of religion; and the right to privacy.
In addition a key human right protected under the ICCPR, as well as under both the Basic Law and the Bill of Rights in Hong Kong, is the right of citizens to participate in public life in elections. This means the right to vote and participate in elections on the basis of “universal and equal suffrage”. In other words everyone should be able to vote for the government, and with an equal weight of their vote. This is critical as it means universal suffrage is not just something desirable in any country, it is a requirement of international human rights law to ensure that everyone can have an opportunity to influence government decision making. In relation to Hong Kong and the implementation of the ICCPR, in April 2013 the United Nations specifically recommended that the Hong Kong Government introduce universal and equal suffrage “as a matter of priority for all future elections”.
The Hong Kong Government and the mainland Chinese Government agreed that a system of voting by universal suffrage would be introduced for the election of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in 2017, and all the seats within the Legislative Council (Hong Kong’s parliament) in 2016. Currently the Chief Executive is voted for by only 1200 people from various sectors of society, and of the 70 Legislative Council seats, 30 are not directly voted for by the public. In December 2013, the Government launched a public consultation and in 2014 proposed changes for the election of the Chief Executive whereby a Nomination Committee of 1200 representatives would put forward several candidates, which the public would then vote on. That proposed system was criticised by many commentators as failing to satisfy the requirements of universal suffrage under the Bill of Rights, as it denied voters a free choice of candidates, and effectively would only allow candidates pre-approved by the mainland Chinese Government. This led to the proposals being rejected in the Legislative Council, and the subsequent Occupy protests calling for universal suffrage.
Today, it is in that context that again protesters are calling for universal suffrage: where the promise of its introduction is yet to be realised, and arguably the Hong Kong Government is in breach of its domestic and international human rights obligations.
Australia has a major stake in these issues from a number of perspectives, and as a result has a crucial role. Firstly, there is a close relationship between China and Australia, including between Hong Kong and Australia. There are approximately 100,000 Australians living in Hong Kong, and 96,000 people from Hong Kong living in Australia. In terms of trade and business, China remains Australia’s largest trading partner, as at 2017 accounting for a staggering US$183 billion and 24% of Australia’s total trade. Further US$4.5 billion worth of trade between Australia and the Mainland of China was routed through Hong Kong, and more than 600 Australian businesses have a presence in Hong Kong. In terms of universities, Hong Kong is home to more than 120,000 alumni from Australian universities, of which approximately 1,637 alumni are from the University of Western Australia. The current crisis therefore has the potential to have direct financial and human impact on Australia and its people.
Secondly, a number of campuses of Australian universities have become a battleground for the issues in Hong Kong. A number of protests have been held at Australian universities against the Extradition Bill and to support democracy in Hong Kong, including “Lennon Walls” being made where students can express their views. In July 2019, a University of Queensland protest descended into violence between Hong Kong student protesters and mainland Chinese students who confronted them and interrupted the protest. One of the organisers of the protest received death threats, and some students who participated reported having their personal information made public on social media in doxxing attacks. Similar incidents have occurred recently at several other universities, for example a Lennon Wall being torn down at the University of Sydney.
These incidents raise serious questions about the role of Australian universities in such situations to uphold the human rights of students, whether it is the rights of students to freedom of expression, to protest, to be free from physical violence and intimidation, and to privacy.
Thirdly, the issues are relevant to the Australian Government’s stated commitment to upholding human rights globally in its foreign policies and bilateral discussions, as affirmed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison recently commented on the protests in Hong Kong:
"My view is one to seek to de-escalate things, to encourage the chief executive of Hong Kong to be listening carefully to what people are saying in Hong Kong and work towards a peaceful and calm resolution of what is a very, very serious issue.''
As has been highlighted, what Hong Kong people are calling for is universal suffrage. But that is also a core human right that has been promised by the Governments of Hong Kong and mainland China for 22 years.
As Deng Xiaoping said in 1984 when setting out his vision for Hong Kong, “we should have faith in the Chinese of Hong Kong, who are quite capable of administering their own affairs”. It is therefore vital that the issue of universal suffrage is reconsidered, to prevent the raging fire from destroying the Fragrant Harbour that we all love.
Peter Reading BA, LLB '98, International Human Rights Lawyer
About the author
Peter Reading is an International Human Rights Lawyer who has worked in Australia, United Kingdom, European Union and currently in Hong Kong China. He is also a University of Western Australia alumnus. This article is written by him in an entirely personal capacity.
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