Response to Arrest of Petition Organiser Following Wang Fuk Court Fire
回應宏福苑火災聯署發起人被捕事件
On November 29, the petition organiser and Chinese University of Hong Kong student Kwan Ching Fung Miles (Miles) was arrested by the Police National Security Department on suspicion of sedition. The arrest was suspected to be related to a petition initiated by Kwan Ching Fung Miles entitled “Tai Po Wang Fuk Court Fire Concern Group”. The petition put forward four demands: continued support for affected residents; the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry; a review of the construction regulatory system; and full investigation into regulatory negligence and accountability for government officials. Before the arrest, the petition had received more than 10,000 signatures. The concern group’s social media page and petition post were closed after Kwan Ching Fung Miles was arrested. The Hong Kong Human Rights Information Centre issued the following response to the arrest of petition organiser Kwan Ching Fung Miles: “The national security police’s arrest of the petition organiser once again highlights the Hong Kong government’s abuse of the sedition offence to suppress peaceful and legitimate expression of opinion. This arrest completely violates the protection of freedom of speech and expression under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the ‘Covenant’), infringing fundamental human rights in the name of national security. The demands put forward by petition organiser Kwan Ching Fung Miles—protecting the rights and interests of disaster victims, finding out the truth about the fire, and improving public safety—are all reasonable civic opinions and are fully protected by the Covenant, with absolutely no connection to endangering national security. The authorities’ arrest of a citizen on this basis reflects that current law enforcement has already treated normal expression of concern about disasters and the public interest as a crime.”
11月29日，聯署發起人、中大學生關靖豐（Miles），被警察國安處以煽動罪拘捕。有關的拘捕，懷疑是因關靖豐發起「大埔宏福苑火災關注組」聯署有關。該聯署提出四項訴求：持續支援受災居民、成立獨立調查委員會、重新審視工程監管制度，以及全力追究監管疏忽並問責政府官員。截至被捕前，聯署已獲逾萬人簽署。關注組的社交媒體專頁及聯署帖文在關靖豐被捕後，已經關閉。 香港人權資訊中心就聯署發起人關靖豐被捕一事作出以下回應： 「國安警拘捕聯署發起人，再次突顯港府濫用《煽動罪》打壓和平及正當的意見表達。今次的拘捕完全違反《公民權利和政治權利國際公約》（《公約》）對言論及表達自由的保障，以國家安全之名侵害基本人權。 聯署發起人關靖豐提出的訴求——保障災民權益、查明火災真相、改善公共安全——均屬於合理的公民意見，完全受《公約》所保障，與危害國家安全毫無關聯。當局以此為由拘捕公民，反映現行執法已將關注災難與公共利益的正常表達視為犯罪。