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
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 (NGO) 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.
IPAC In the summer of 2020, the leadership of Hong Kong Watch worked with human rights leaders such as
Luke de Pulford to create the
Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, a global pressure group, advocating for human rights in China, particularly with regards the
persecution of Uyghurs in China and
Democracy in Hong Kong.
New appointments in 2020 Benedict Rogers joined the staff team of the organisation in September 2020 as chief executive officer, with Patterson moving to Policy Director. The organisation also brought in veteran Labour party staffer Sam Goodman as senior policy advisor and Hong Kong activist in exile,
Joey Siu, as an Associate based in Washington DC. == Mission ==