Human rights in Hong Kong

The impending return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty has generated serious concern about the future of human rights in the territory. The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which comes into effect in July 1997, guarantees that the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as applied to Hong Kong, shall remain in force. The newly-enacted Bill of Rights seeks to protect the rights and freedoms contained in the former covenant. But is this an adequate constitutional safeguard? Can any Bill of Rights provide sufficient protection for individual liberty? Are the fears of Hong Kong people well founded? This book attempts to answer questions such as these, and provides an analysis of a number of specific human rights, the law and practice in Hong Kong.