Hong Kong officials submitted a proposal to the Legislative Council on July 3 to amend local prison rules, which would empower the Correctional Services Department (CSD) to impose—based also on “specific purposes” such as “maintaining national security”—restrictions, conditions, or prohibitions on visits to all inmates.
The authorities also sought to abolish other relevant provisions that allowed prisoners awaiting trial access to their own meals and clothing. Some commentators said the move is a sign that Hong Kong prisons are gradually becoming “mainlandized” and more like “concentration camps.” They also accused officials of proposing the amendment to target political prisoners.
