Refer Report
Advance Passenger Information System to be Fully Implemented in September Next Year
Criticism of “measures to block entry of journalists and human rights activists”
Hong Kong police conduct a random check on a woman in Causeway Bay, a bustling area, on June 4, 2024, the 35th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests. /AFP-Yonhap News
Hong Kong authorities have announced that they will implement a policy to prevent “undesirable passengers” from boarding flights to Hong Kong. The move has been criticized as an easy way to block entry of people who are inconvenient to Hong Kong authorities, such as foreign journalists and human rights activists.
According to the US-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) and the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 6th, the Hong Kong Immigration Department announced on the 3rd that the ‘Advance Passenger Information System’ will be fully implemented on September 1st of next year after a 12-month trial run.
Airlines are required to provide passenger information to the Hong Kong Immigration Department during the check-in process for Hong Kong-bound flights under the ‘Advance Passenger Information System’. After receiving this information, the Immigration Department immediately instructs the airline to refuse boarding to passengers it considers to be ‘undesirable passengers’. More than 100 airlines have cooperated with the ‘Advance Passenger Information System’.
There has been criticism that the measure is intended to make it easier to block entry into Hong Kong by people the Hong Kong authorities deem ‘undesirable’, such as foreign journalists, members of international organizations, and human rights activists.
Hong Kong authorities last month denied a visa to a Chinese journalist working for Bloomberg News who was released after being detained for a year in China on charges of endangering national security.
“‘Undesirable passengers’ could include think tank staff, supporters of democracy activities, and family and friends of people known to be dissidents,” said Maya Wang, deputy director of Human Rights Watch. “This will make people fearful of being around activists wanted by the Hong Kong government and will make them want to cut ties with them.”
Anna, an exiled human rights activist wanted by Hong Kong authorities, told RFA that the move would hit hardest foreign journalists and international organizations, who Hong Kong authorities often view as “hostile foreign forces.”
“Hong Kong’s entire socio-political system has been reorganized under the national security law,” said Elmer Yuen, an exiled businessman.
Source: Korean