Hong Kong Watch
Hong Kong Watch is a non-governmental organisation based in the United Kingdom that was established to monitor the conditions of human rights, freedoms and rule of law in Hong Kong. It was founded by British human rights activist Benedict Rogers on 11 December 2017, two months after he was barred from entering Hong Kong.
History
In the aftermath of the 2014 Hong Kong protests and Legislative Council oath-taking controversy, Benedict Rogers, a British human rights activist, intended to visit a group of imprisoned Hong Kong democracy activists. On 11 October 2017, Rogers was barred entry to Hong Kong. He arrived at Hong Kong International Airport on a flight from Bangkok but was escorted away by immigration officials and placed on a flight back to Thailand. He had previously been warned by a contact in the Chinese embassy in London that he might be refused entry to Hong Kong. Rogers, who lived in Hong Kong between 1997 and 2002, has criticised what Rogers says is Mainland China's increasing threat to democracy in Hong Kong and has campaigned against the imprisonment of pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, Alex Chow and Jimmy Lai. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson demanded an explanation from the Hong Kong authorities and the Central Chinese government. Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of [Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China|Chinese Foreign Ministry], later responded that the move was within China's sovereignty and said: "Whether this person's trip to Hong Kong involved an intention to intervene in Hong Kong's internal affairs and judicial independence – he knows very well himself."The following day, Rogers announced he would form a non-governmental organisation to monitor the rule of law and human rights in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Watch was launched at a reception hosted in Speaker's House, House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 11 December 2017. The organisation appointed Johnny Patterson as its founding Director, with Rogers acting as Chair of Trustees It was established on grounds of the belief of the fact that under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the United Kingdom has a moral and legal obligation to speak out.