Articles for category: Hong Kong

Rainbow in the Dark

On 16 July, the Hong Kong government introduced the Registration of Same-sex Partnerships Bill in the Hong Kong Legislative Council. This move was mandated by two decisions of Hong Kong’s apex court in a 2023 case. The Bill grants same-sex couples who have already registered overseas the rights to have their relationships legally recognised. The decisions came as a beam of light at the grim time of Hong Kong’s authoritarian turn. They can inspire judicial strategies to navigate a liberal enclave within the authoritarian regime, and demonstrate the correlation between gender backlash and constitutional degradation.

9. September 2025

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Incremental but Significant

On 6 February 2023, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal ruled in favor of two transgender applicants seeking to change the gender marker on their identification cards. The Court held that the Hong Kong government’s policy unconstitutionally infringed upon their right to privacy. This is doctrinally and strategically consistent with the Court’s LGBTQ jurisprudence, which proceeds incrementally and is highly attuned to the (ever-shrinking) political space in which Hong Kong courts operate.

17. Februar 2023

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Hong Kong Surveillance Law

though 9/11 did not immediately result in a dramatic expansion of the surveillance state in Hong Kong as was often seen in the west, twenty years later a similar process is now well underway. Though Hong Kong’s surveillance and privacy laws have long been relatively deferential to the needs of law enforcement, the dramatic legal changes occasioned by the introduction of a new ‘national security law’ in 2020 suggest that the population will be under increasing forms of surveillance in the coming years.

4. April 2022

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Surviving Executive-Led Pandemic Control in Executive-Led Hong Kong

Hong Kong was one of the front urban regions that recorded COVID-19 cases in early 2020. One year later, there were recorded over 11,000 confirmed cases and 200 deaths. At the time of writing, this Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China is struggling with the fourth wave of infections, which is the most virulent thus far, due to the combination of community spread initiated a cluster of dancing instructors and students, and the infiltration of the coronavirus, finally, into the least hygienic environs of the built-up areas.

3. März 2021

Being Naïve or Putting Business First?

The European Union would like to believe that it is acting robustly and cohesively to promote human rights and democracy globally. This (self-)perception as a force of good in terms of responsible business conduct and human rights protection might however be less accurate than many within the EU think. Some details about the recent EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) seem to spoil this rosy picture.

19. Januar 2021

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Five Reasons to Question the Legality of a National Security Law for Hong Kong

On 28 May 2020, the National People’s Congress (NPC) resolved to authorize its Standing Committee (NPCSC) to enact a piece of national security law for Hong Kong. Would this decision be in contravention of the Basic Law? Some people may say that this is a stupid question. Maybe it is. But if the Central Government still claims to be abide by the rule of law, and if the NPC is not above the law, then whether its decision would contravene the Basic Law is a serious question about the rule of law.

1. Juni 2020

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Corona Constitutional #30: One Country, One System

Ein Vierteljahrhundert lang hat sich Hong Kong als liberale, rechtsstaatliche Insel in einem autoritären Staat gehalten. Nun plant die chinesische Regierung ein neues Sicherheitsgesetz, das von Liberalität und Grundrechtsschutz wohl nicht viel übrig lassen wird. Im Podcast-Interview mit Max Steinbeis beleuchtet DAVID LAW von der Universität Hong Kong die verfassungsrechtlichen Hintergründe dieser bedrückenden Entwicklung, und stößt auf die dringende Frage: Welche Möglichkeiten und welche Verantwortung haben Wissenschaftler_innen, wenn es brenzlig wird im Kampf um die Freiheit?

27. Mai 2020

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Hong Kong’s Basic Law at 30: A Constitutional Experiment under Stress

On April 4, 2020, the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (HK Basic Law) turned 30. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has been and continues to be confronted with many challenges, including those concerned with the implementation of the HK Basic Law. Ultimately, it will depend on the Chinese Central Authorities and the Hong Kong institutions if the HK Basic Law is to remain the centrepiece in the governance of Hong Kong.

6. April 2020