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On Foreign Minister Wang Yi's Visit: A Call for Japan to Raise Hong Kong's Human Rights

On Foreign Minister Wang Yi's Visit: A Call for Japan to Raise Hong Kong's Human Rights

Location
Tokyo
Date
22 March 2025

English translation of a statement originally published in Japanese by Lady Liberty Hong Kong, 22 March 2025.

On the occasion of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Japan — for the Japan–China–Korea foreign ministers' meeting and the Japan–China High-Level Economic Dialogue — Lady Liberty Hong Kong expresses grave concern at the continuing serious violations of human rights and civil liberties in Hong Kong, and calls on the Japanese government to raise these issues with the Chinese government.

Japan, as Asia's most stable democracy, has respected and taken pride in freedom and the rule of law. The path by which post-war Japan built peace and prosperity as a democracy overlaps with the path the people of Hong Kong are now trying to walk. As Hong Kong's citizens fight to defend freedom and autonomy, Japan's defence of these values is not merely a diplomatic matter — it also means defending Japan's own identity.

22 March marks exactly one year since the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO) took effect in Hong Kong. That a meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi should fall on this symbolic day is an important opportunity for the Japanese government to send a clear message about the situation in Hong Kong. For Japan to acquiesce would signal that democratic values in Asia are faltering.

The situation in Hong Kong is more severe than ever. The National Security Law (NSL), enacted in 2020, rapidly shrank Hong Kong's civil society. The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO), enacted in 2024, intensified that repression further, and political freedom and press freedom are effectively vanishing.

Pressure on pro-democracy leaders has intensified. Benny Tai — a legal scholar and a leader of the 2014 Umbrella Movement — was charged with subversion for organising the "primary election" ahead of the 2020 Legislative Council election, and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. The activists and legislators known as the "Hong Kong 47" were also convicted over their involvement in that primary. This is not a series of isolated cases; it means that the democratic process in Hong Kong itself has been made the target.

Freedom of the press and of speech no longer exists in Hong Kong. Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily, was charged with "collusion with foreign forces" and has already been held for more than 1,500 days in a cell without natural light.

This repression does not stop within Hong Kong. Under the National Security Law and Article 23 of the Basic Law, the Hong Kong government has issued arrest warrants for thirteen activists living abroad. Bounties of roughly ¥19 million have been placed on them, along with sanctions such as passport invalidation and bans on economic activity. If Hong Kong's freedom disappears, the stability of all of Asia is shaken.

After the war, Japan overcame authoritarianism and built a foundation of peace and democracy. The people of Hong Kong are trying to walk that very same path. For Japan to support Hong Kong is not to confront China, but to defend its own identity and democratic values. The order of "peace and stability" that Japan has long upheld depends on whether Hong Kong can keep its freedom and autonomy. Should Hong Kong fall, tensions over Taiwan and in the East China Sea may rise further. For Japan to stand with Hong Kong now is also an act of defending Asia's stability.

Tomoko Ako, a supervisor of Lady Liberty Hong Kong and a professor at the University of Tokyo, comments:

At a time when democracy is in crisis, Japan is expected to play a more active role as its defender and practitioner. As a citizen born and raised in Japan — where conditions are relatively safe and where those who strive can grow — as a parent of children who worry about the future of the international situation and their living environment, and as a scholar who studies a world beset by many problems, I am watching for concrete action by the Japanese government to protect human rights and democracy.

— Tomoko Ako

Requests to the Japanese government

We call on the Japanese government to take the following actions in response to the human-rights repression in Hong Kong:

  • Call for the immediate repeal of the National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
  • Demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners.
  • Call for the restoration of Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy under the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

A diplomatic touchstone for Japan

Supporting Hong Kong is not merely a moral act. It is an action that demonstrates Japan's standing as a democratic leader in Asia. Just as post-war Japan built freedom and peace, Hong Kong hopes for the same future. Japan's voice is needed now.