- Title: Amnesty urges Hong Kong government to protect citizens' rights
- Date: 24th September 2019
- Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (RECENT - SEPTEMBER 7, 2019) (REUTERS) PROTESTERS THROWING OBJECTS INTO FIRE POLICE MOVING IN HONG KONG, CHINA (SEPTEMBER 24, 2019) (REUTERS) AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL EAST ASIA DIRECTOR JOSHUA ROSENZWEIG, SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMNESTY EAST ASIA DIRECTOR JOSHUA ROSENZWEIG SAYING: "From those experiences we can see a common thread running through, that the Hong Kong government is failing to facilitate, failing to allow its, allow peaceful assembly, to allow critical political speech, because of the concern that somehow this would be violating the one country, two systems principle which is new." ROSENZWEIG SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMNESTY EAST ASIA DIRECTOR JOSHUA ROSENZWEIG SAYING: "What it's doing is sort of ignoring those duties because perhaps it feel bound to a different authority that is not set out quite so explicitly. But what we are saying is 'look, you have this clear duty to protect human rights and to facilitate the enjoyment of human rights in Hong Kong. Please show that commitment, even if it means pushing back against this narrative of the fear of threat of national security that Beijing is sending.' So far we haven't seen them willing to do that." ROSENZWEIG LOOKING ON (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMNESTY EAST ASIA DIRECTOR JOSHUA ROSENZWEIG SAYING: "So it's really only by having an independent inquiry where the results will lead to real justice being done, that I think will have some sort of satisfaction on the part of the Hong Kong people that the government is doing what it needs to do."
- Embargoed: 8th October 2019 11:30
- Keywords: Hong Kong Amnesty interview police
- Location: HONG KONG, CHINA
- City: HONG KONG, CHINA
- Country: Hong Kong
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA001AY0M6VB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Human rights group Amnesty International on Tuesday (September 24) urged the Hong Kong government to protect the rights of its citizens in the Chinese-ruled city.
"We can see a common thread running through, that the Hong Kong government is failing to facilitate, failing to allow its, allow peaceful assembly, to allow critical political speech, because of the concern that somehow this would be violating the one country, two systems principle which is new," Joshua Rosenzweig, head of Amnesty's East Asia regional office told Reuters.
In a report released on Tuesday, Amnesty also urged the Hong Kong government to investigate police use of force during the nearly four months of protests.
Rosenzweig said that only an independent inquiry into police actions, as protesters have called for, will "have some sort of satisfaction on the part of the Hong Kong people."
What started as protests over a now-shelved extradition bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial have evolved into broader calls for greater democracy and an independent inquiry into police actions.
Demonstrators are frustrated at what they see as Beijing's tightening grip over the former British colony, which returned to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula intended to guarantee freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland.
(Production: Vorasit Satienlerk, Angie Teo) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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