China's Foreign Ministry condemned a resolution passed by the European Parliament concerning Hong Kong's shrinking rights to free speech, even as Beijing seeks to restore economic links with the EU.
The EU body overwhelmingly adopted a resolution Thursday citing the deterioration of the city’s freedoms since the imposition by Beijing of a sweeping national security law in 2020. It urged the Hong Kong government to release and drop all charges against activist publisher Jimmy Lai, who was arrested under the security law, along with other pro-democracy activists.
Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to China’s rule in 1997, was promised the right to retain its Western-style freedoms for 50 years after the handover. But after the 2019 pro-democracy protests that spiraled into violence, Beijing has steadily tightened its grip on the semi-autonomous region.
Another major source of contention is China’s alleged “secret overseas police stations,” which have been reported across North America, Europe and in other countries where Chinese communities include critics of the Communist Party who have family or business contacts in China. China denies that they are police stations, saying that they exist mainly to provide citizen services such as renewing driver’s licenses.
China’s response dismissed the politicians’ works as “nothing more than a botched political performance.”
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