Prisoners' Right to Vote in Hong Kong: A Human Rights Perspective

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-194
Author(s):  
Wing Hong Chui
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Court Cases ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
The People ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right

AbstractAccording to Article 26 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, permanent residents shall have the right to vote and the right to stand for election in accordance with the law. In the eyes of the public, voting is a fundamental right of democracy and promotes citizen participation in choosing the people to represent them in the political system. It is true to say that, 'an inclusive democracy values all of its citizens' (Right to Vote, 2005). However, does every citizen who is above 18 years old have the right to vote in Hong Kong? While prisoners are deprived the right to vote in Hong Kong, other jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, Europe, and Canada currently practise criminal disenfranchisement in more limited ways. To fill the gap, this paper aims to examine whether laws should be reviewed and amended to remove the barrier to voting faced by the prisoner in Hong Kong. It argues that Hong Kong should grant the right of prisoners to vote through examining relevant laws and several landmark court cases.

scholarly journals Public opinion polls and covert colonialism in British Hong Kong

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florence Mok
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Colonial State ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Colonial Government ◽  
Historical Methods

This article examines colonial statecraft and state–society relations in a pivotal period for Hong Kong. Using historical methods and archival evidence, it overcomes the limitations in existing research, which is often theoretically driven and reliant on published sources. The article reveals that the Hong Kong masses were made structurally invisible by the Movement of Opinion Direction (MOOD), a polling exercise introduced by the reformist colonial state. The public were unaware that their views were disseminated to policymakers and that they affected policy formulation: this was covert colonialism. The article investigates confidential MOOD reports generated by the Home Affairs Department from 1975 to 1980, demonstrating why and how the colonial administration constructed public opinion. By disclosing what these secret files reveal about changing public attitudes towards the colonial government, the United Kingdom and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the article also provides new insights into public receptions of the state’s reforms and potential threats to the colonial regime in the 1970s.

scholarly journals Hongkong — Specjalny Region Administracyjny Chińskiej Republiki Ludowej i praktyczna realizacja politycznej idei „jedno państwo — dwa systemy”

2020 ◽  
Vol 5(160) ◽  
pp. 153-169
Author(s):  
Agata Wiktoria Ziętek
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
Political Concept

On 1 July 1997, the United Kingdom officially handed over the territory of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China. This event had a symbolic meaning. It marked the end of a stage in China’s history which began in the middle of the 19th century and was described as a time of humiliation. Hong Kong was supposed to be an example of practical implementation of Deng Xiaoping’s political concept of “one country, two systems”, which assumed the possibility of functioning of different economic and political systems in one country. Despite the passage of time, questions remain as to what China’s attitude to the regained territory will be; to what extent the provisions of the 1984 agreement signed between the governments of the People’s Republic of China and the United Kingdom and the 1990 Basic Law for the region will be respected by China, and thus what the political, economic and social situation in Hong Kong will look like until its complete reintegration, i.e., by 2047, and what the future of Hong Kong will be.

scholarly journals ‘CIVES PESSIMO IURE’. AKTORZY A UPRAWNIENIA RZYMSKICH OBYWATELI W PRAWIE PUBLICZNYM REPUBLIKI I WCZESNEGO PRYNCYPATU

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 167
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Loska
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Military Service ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Public Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
Public Rights ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Right

CIVES PESSIMO IURE: ACTORS AND THE RIGHTS OF ROMAN CITIZENS IN THE PUBLIC LAW OF THE REPUBLIC AND EARLY PRINCIPATESummaryRoman public law recognised the following citizens’ rights: the right to serve in the legions, ius suffragii (the right to vote at assemblies of the people), ius honorum (the right to hold office), ius provocationis (the right to appeal to the People’s Assembly against a magistrate’s decision), ius auxilii (the right to obtain assistance from the tribune of the plebs). Sometimes a restriction of a citizen’s civil rights was due to his profession, and the actor’s profession was such a case. The legal status of actors was the resultant of many factors. They performed in public, were paid for their services, and they had a bad reputation. Even actors who were Roman citizens were not entitled to all the public rights. Citizens’ rights were interlinked, hence the lack of one of them could entail further restrictions. A ban on the right to military service prevented actors from voting in the comitia centuriata; and their exclusion from the most important tribus deprived them of the vote in the comitia tributa. Hence there was a restriction on the availability of the ius provocationis to actors; and they could neither vote nor hold office. Thespians could thus be regarded as cives pessimo iure – second-class citizens.

The Basic Law of the Special Administrative Region of Macau: Some Reflections

2000 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yash Ghai
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
The People ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
One Country Two Systems ◽  
Constitutional System ◽  
High Degree

With China's resumption of sovereignty over Macau on 20th December 1999, another step was taken towards the reunification of Greater China. The reunification of Macau as of Hong Kong is based on the principle of “one country, two systems’, under which the socialist systems of the People's Republic of China are not applied in these territories. Instead most constituents of their previous economic, legal and social systems are preserved. In either case China negotiated what are called Joint Declarations for the resumption of sovereignty with the colonial power, under which the terms of “one country, two systems’ were spelled out. China undertook to give effect to the Declarations in Basic Laws, passed by its National People's Congress. Except for defence and foreign affairs, most matters are vested in the new entities, called Special Administrative Regions. The Basic Laws describe the constitutional system established for the regions as being characterised by a “high degree of autonomy’. As such they are an interesting addition to autonomy systems which are increasingly being applied as solutions to problems of divided societies. But the institutional support for the autonomy is particularly weak, and a closer examination of the articulation of the regions with the central authorities suggests that the primary concern in establishing the special administrative regions is less the automony for the people of Hong Kong or Macau as finding a framework for managing different economic systems from those on the mainland (I have developed these arguments in Ghai 1999).

scholarly journals Grundtvig i politik op til 1830

1994 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-91
Author(s):  
Vagn Wåhlin
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Freedom Of The Press ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
Public Media ◽  
Political Views ◽  
The Press ◽  
Social Pact ◽  
The Right

Grundtvig in Politic until 1830-1831By Vagn WåhlinVagn Wåhlin discusses the Grundtvig text, .Political Considerations., re-printed above, which was written in the year of the 1930 revolution. In the Danish United Monarchy the European revolutions gave rise to a demand for a wider citizen participation in politics through parliamentary institutions and a demand for a solution to the national problem of the position of Schleswig between the Kingdom and Holstein. In addition, the debate led to a discussion of and a demand for an extension of the civil rights, including in particular a specification of the character and extent of the freedom of the press. The present article discusses Grundtvig’s treatment of these and other political subjects in the pamphlet mentioned.In the article, the concept of politics is defined as the attempt by an individual or a group to influence the authoritative distribution of the material and spiritual wealth of the society, a definition that comes close to Grundtvig’s own view. The article does not intend an exhaustive account of Grundtvig’s political views, but aims to show how Grundtvig’s attitude in a number of earlier writings has emerged through his occupation with current events and considerable social philosophers. The decisive thing for Grundtvig, before and especially around and after the time of the pamphlet discussed here, was to present and promote a form of government, on a historical and pragmatic basis, for the benefit and welfare of the whole people, where freedom and power balanced each other, where the rulers were responsive to the voice of an enlightened citizenry, and where confidence, love and responsibility rather than selfishness prevailed among the members of the society and determined the purposeful actions of the whole people - all under Divine Providence. It is pointed out how Grundtvig takes account of the character of the Danish society as an agrarian society by emphasizing the peasantry as ideally the fundamental and stabilizing element in the state. Consequently Grundtvig stresses the primary production as the foundation of society, structured through the mutual love in freedom and the folk culture of the people - traits common to the nation - as the basis of the interaction of the citizens and hence the balance between their equality and freedom. Grundtvig doubts the general possibility or desirability of equality, and is of the opinion that inequality is a natural condition of life, but that this condition is counterbalanced by the mutual fellow feeling of the citizens. Grundtvig uses the social pact idea in his definition of the distribution of power between the consultative function of the people, expressing the general will of the public, and the executive power of the King. The consultative power of the citizens finds its expression through the public media, dependent on freedom of the press, and Grundtvig brings up the concrete proposal that the Schleswig question should be solved by letting the Schleswigers give expression to the general public will in the public press. Grundtvig defends the right of the citizens to revolt the moment their rights, for example their right of property, are violated, but he dissociates himself from revolutions which, in his opinion, lead to tyranny, the opposite of freedom. The article explains how trust in God’s Providence together with love is the condition of the King’s and the people’s trust in the viability of the above-mentioned relationship. Grundtvig’s political views have their foundation in his emphasis on the importance of Christianity for the universal-historical development and for a people’s fulfillment of its own destiny in it.

The Right to Information in India Implementation and Impact

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
_______ Naveen ◽  
_____ Priti
Keyword(s):  
Public Life ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Know How ◽  
The People ◽  
The Government ◽  
Right To Information ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

The Right to Information Act 2005 was passed by the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) Government with a sense of pride. It flaunted the Act as a milestone in India’s democratic journey. It is five years since the RTI was passed; the performance on the implementation frontis far from perfect. Consequently, the impact on the attitude, mindset and behaviour patterns of the public authorities and the people is not as it was expected to be. Most of the people are still not aware of their newly acquired power. Among those who are aware, a major chunk either does not know how to wield it or lacks the guts and gumption to invoke the RTI. A little more stimulation by the Government, NGOs and other enlightened and empowered citizens can augment the benefits of this Act manifold. RTI will help not only in mitigating corruption in public life but also in alleviating poverty- the two monstrous maladies of India.

The Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Simon N.M. Young
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
National Security ◽  
Chief Executive ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
Special Administrative Region ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Administrative Region ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
The Law

The Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (NSL) was passed on June 30, 2020 by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC). It did not have immediate direct effect in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). After consulting the Committee for the Basic Law of the HKSAR (BLC) and the Government of the HKSAR (HKSARG), the NPCSC added the NSL to Annex III of The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Basic Law) before the Chief Executive of the HKSAR (Chief Executive) promulgated the NSL for local application. All this happened on June 30, enabling the NSL to enter into force at 11 p.m., just ahead of the twenty-third anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR on July 1, 2020.

scholarly journals Who are "the people" in the German Constitution? A critique of , and contribution to , the debate about the right of foreigners to vote in multilevel democracies

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Bäumler
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Voting Rights ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Federal States ◽  
The People ◽  
German Constitution ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Right To Vote ◽  
The Right

ABSTRACT Democracy means power to the people, but it is not always clear who belongs to "the people". The question has become pertinent in the age of migration where large groups of foreigners permanently reside outside their countries of nationality. The economic, cultural, and political integration of these foreigners is one of the pressing problems faced by democratic States in both the developed and developing worlds. One question is : whether resident non-citizens should be granted the right to vote. The answer to this question depends on who belongs to "the people". In federal and quasi-federal States with multiple levels of government the further question arises : whether "the people" is a homogenous concept that applies uniformly across all levels of government. This article contributes to the debate about the right of foreigners to vote in democratic States with multiple levels of government, such as, South Africa and Kenya. It does so by discussing the German response to the problems mentioned above. The dominant view of the German Federal Constitutional Court since the 1990s has been that "the people" only includes "German citizens" , and that attempts by lower levels of government to extend the right to vote to foreigners from Africa and elsewhere are unconstitutional. In this article I explore and critique this conventional view. I then present a positive case for the extension of voting rights to resident non-citizens under the German Constitution. Many of the arguments would apply with equal force to the debate about the right to vote of foreigners in African multi-level democracies, such as, South Africa and Kenya. Keywords: Denizenship, Citizenship, Voting rights, Nationality law, Multi-level government, The people, Foreigners, Residents, Affected persons principle, Democracy.

Right to Internet

2013 ◽  
pp. 216-224
Author(s):  
Amita Verma ◽  
Amit Verma
Keyword(s):  
Growth And Development ◽  
Internet Usage ◽  
Internet Technology ◽  
Political Rights ◽  
Human Right ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
International Convention ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The People ◽  
The Right

With the growth and development in technology, one of the most significant changes has been the commercialisation of Internet. There has been a revolution in Internet technology with the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights recognizing “Right to Internet” as a human right. There are countries like Antigua and Barbuda, Angola, Armenia, Colombia, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Panama, Poland, Peru, South Africa, Turkey, Trinidad and Tobago, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom, which already have legislations promoting the cause of Internet to every citizen. This chapter aims to study the implementation and utility of the right to Internet being recognized as a fundamental right and the principles behind it. It also intends to study the method of implementation of this right keeping in mind the situation prevalent in China, which restricts Internet usage. The chapter would also make suggestion with regards to the remedies available to the people in the cases of the countries not recognizing the right.

Optimal Policy for Biopharmaceutical Drugs Innovation and Access in India

2011 ◽  
pp. 74-114
Author(s):  
Rakhi Rashmi
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Optimal Policy ◽  
Patent Protection ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
Public Access ◽  
The Public ◽  
Transfer Of Technology ◽  
The People ◽  
The Right ◽  
Government Initiative

In theory, patents work by providing the inventor an incentive to invent in the first place and then to disclose. Disclosure to the public is rewarded by giving the inventor a monopoly. As product patent and higher patent protection has been advocated by Art 27.1 of the TRIPs agreement on the basis that for greater innovation through transfer of technology is a necessity in developing countries like India as it provides capital to fund expensive innovations, who are otherwise not be able to fund expensive innovations on its own. On the other hand, at the same time drugs are also related with the health of the people and to take care of the health of the people is the utmost priority of any Government and there are issues like accessibility with regard to strong patent protection to biopharma products and data exclusivity. Also as per Art 7 of the TRIPs transfer of technology has to occur to the developing countries in order to promote technological innovations, which is conducive to social and economic welfare. Therefore, striking the right balance between incentive and public access creates a tension is essential. This study suggests optimal policy (Patent and other regulations) to have a balance between biopharma drugs innovation and their access in India while complying with the provisions of the TRIPs agreement by broadly categorising variables such as (1) patent policy such as the scope of biotech patents and the extent of the right in terms of breadth and length; and (2) regulatory environment such as the taxation incentive, Investment policy, Government initiative for the development of this sector etc.

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