Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2022
United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
HONG KONG 2022 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.
According to the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law of the
Special Administrative Region, except in matters of defense and foreign affairs,
Hong Kong would have a high degree of autonomy. In 2022, China continued to
dismantle Hong Kong’s political freedoms and autonomy in violation of these
commitments. Amendments to the Basic Law in 2021 fundamentally changed the
electoral system to effectively allow Beijing to block participation by political
groups of which Beijing disapproved. On May 8, 2022, Hong Kong’s Election
Committee selected John Lee, former secretary for security, as the city’s next chief
executive. Lee, the sole candidate permitted by Beijing, secured more than 99
percent of the votes in the 1,500-member selection committee, whose members
were in turn vetted by the government. Critics termed the election a violation of
democratic principles and political pluralism and a major step away from the Basic
Law’s stated aim of universal suffrage.
The Hong Kong Police Force maintains internal security and reports to the
Security Bureau. The Security Bureau continues to report to the chief executive;
however, the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force,
established by the National Security Law, operates under central government
supervision, and the National Security Law permits the embedding of mainland
security personnel in the department. The National Security Law also established a
Committee on National Security in the Hong Kong government that reports to the
central government and an Office for Safeguarding National Security staffed by
members of mainland security agencies. Unaccountable under Hong Kong law,
this office allows mainland China security elements to operate openly,
contradicting the spirit of and past practice under the Joint Declaration. It is no
longer clear if Hong Kong’s civilian authorities maintain effective, autonomous
control over the city’s security services.