Hong Kong: “We Can’t Write the Truth Anymore”

Following months of massive pro-democracy protests in 2019, the Chinese government on June 30, 2020, imposed the National Security Law on Hong Kong. The draconian law contains overly broad and vague provisions that severely punish peaceful speech and activities, create secret security agencies, give sweeping new powers to the police, impose restraints on civil society and the media, deny fair trial rights, and weaken judicial oversight.

The Chinese and Hong Kong governments moved swiftly to transform Hong Kong from a free society into an authoritarian one. Hong Kong authorities arrested many of the city’s pro-democracy leaders, activists, and protesters, and forced independent media, labor unions, and civil society organizations to close. They reshaped multiple sectors and institutions so they become compliant to the Chinese government.

This report details the severe decline in academic freedom and the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly on Hong Kong’s eight publicly funded universities since June 2020.

The Report