The UNPO secretariat works for the rights of the people of Hong Kong as a whole and might work with different civil society organizations, groups and representatives from the community. However, the main organization collaborating with the UNPO at the moment is the European Hong Kong Diaspora Alliance (EHKDA). 

Despite 150 years of British colonial rule and its current sovereignty under the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong has fostered a unique cultural blend of East and West, establishing its people as a distinct community. This cultural conjunction manifests itself in multiple dimensions such as language, ways of living, and core values for democracy and the rule of law. The majority of the people of Hong Kong identify themselves as Hongkongers instead of Chinese or British.

A distinct local identity has emerged in Hong Kong, particularly among younger generations, setting them apart from mainland China. Though there is growing cultural assimilation and the erosion of their identity by China, the people of Hong Kong maintain a profound sense of attachment to their territory, language, civic values, and way of life.

Hong Kong’s history is marked by a unique trajectory that has shaped its distinct political, social, and cultural identity. Hong Kong was an insignificant and sparsely populated fishing port until it was ceded by the Qing dynasty to the British in 1842, when it became the focal point in the colonial expansion of the British Empire. Following the First Opium War, the Qing dynasty ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanking. Subsequent agreements extended British control to the Kowloon Peninsula (1860) and the New Territories (leased in 1898), establishing the modern boundaries of the territory. 

In the second half of the 20th century, first due to political turmoil in China and later due to economic opportunities in Hong Kong, many Chinese immigrated to Hong Kong. Over time, Hong Kong established itself as one of the leading financial hubs in the world, and the population swelled to 5.7 million by 1990. In 1984, the Sino-British Joint Declaration paved the way for the transfer of Hong Kong’s sovereignty to the People’s Republic of China in 1997. The agreement promised that Hong Kong would retain a “high degree of autonomy” under the “One Country, Two Systems” model.

During the final decades of British administration, Hong Kong was included on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories (NSGTs). While it was removed from the list in 1997 following its handover to the People’s Republic of China, the removal was not without controversy. Critics argued that the people of Hong Kong were never given the opportunity to exercise genuine self-determination, as mandated by the United Nations Charter for NSGTs. In the years following 1997, tensions began to emerge between Beijing’s central authority and segments of Hong Kong’s population, particularly over issues such as democratic reform, civil liberties, and the interpretation of the Basic Law. These tensions have fueled debate over the legitimacy of the 1997 handover in terms of the right to self-determination of the people of Hong Kong and whether the removal of the territory from the NSGTs list truly reflected their aspirations. 

Throughout the course of history, Hong Kong has long possessed a separate cultural, legal, and political identity from mainland China. Its people continue to assert their distinctiveness and seek greater agency in determining their future.

Since Hong Kong’s sovereignty was transferred to China in 1997, and especially within the last decade, China has increased its effort in erasing the Hong Kong identity and eroding its core values. The Hong Kong people enjoy neither political autonomy nor civic freedoms. Instead, they are represented by the PRC, which cannot genuinely speak for the people of Hong Kong. In fact, China no longer honors the Sino-British Joint Declaration that guarantees the Hong Kong people a high degree of autonomy in the aforementioned “One Country, Two Systems” arrangement. Therefore, the people of Hong Kong seek to represent themselves in various international organisations and to fight for the lost right to self-determination.

In recent years, as the people of Hong Kong call for greater representation, they have faced escalating political repression and a rapid erosion of civil liberties, marked by the systematic dismantling of democratic institutions and the silencing of dissidents. The 2019 pro-democracy protests, sparked by opposition to an extradition bill and later broadening into mass demands for democratic reform, were met with excessive police force, mass arrests, and the criminalisation of human rights defenders, labelled as “separatists” or “terrorists.” Rather than addressing the underlying political grievances, authorities responded with sweeping authoritarian measures, including the imposition of the Beijing-drafted National Security Law in 2020 and the passage of Article 23 legislation in 2024. These laws criminalise peaceful political expression and civil society activity under vague terms such as “subversion” and “foreign collusion,” leading to hundreds of arrests, the closure of independent media outlets, and the disbanding of opposition groups. 

These developments have severely curtailed the people of Hong Kong’s ability to exercise self-determination and meaningful political participation. Once promised a high degree of autonomy and the eventual implementation of universal suffrage under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework, Hongkongers now face a political system tightly managed by Beijing, where only pre-approved candidates may stand for election. Democratic institutions and opposition parties have been weakened, and civil society constrained. The inability to freely elect representatives, express dissent, or influence public policy represents a serious restriction on the collective right of Hongkongers to shape their own political future. In this context, the struggle for self-determination in Hong Kong is not only a challenge to authoritarian control but also an effort to restore the democratic agency that has been progressively limited.