China calls European Parliament's Hong Kong resolutions 'publicity stunt'

[June 16, 2023]  By Farah Master

HONG KONG (Reuters) -China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong said resolutions passed by the European Parliament on Thursday related to the Chinese controlled territory were a "despicable act" and "trampled" on the principles of international law.

The European Parliament's resolution titled "The deterioration of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, notably the case of Jimmy Lai" urged Hong Kong's government to release and drop charges against the pro-democracy tycoon and other activists.

It also called for the European Council to introduce "targeted sanctions" against city leader John Lee and other officials "responsible for the ongoing crackdown on human rights in Hong Kong". It did not elaborate on what the sanctions should be.

The United States sanctioned Lee in 2020 for what they said was his role in cracking down on political freedoms in the city after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in June that year.

The law punishes secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.

China said the resolution, which was adopted with 483 votes in favour, 9 against and 42 abstentions, was "doomed to fail".

Politicians in the European parliament "do not take the national economy and people's livelihood as their own responsibility but instead use the Hong Kong issue as a publicity stunt under the guise of 'human rights', 'democracy' and 'freedom'", the Foreign Ministry's commissioner office said in a statement.

An attendant walks past EU and China flags ahead of the EU-China High-level Economic Dialogue at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China June 25, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo

"The political drama of a few foreign politicians will not shake the firm determination ... to govern Hong Kong according to the law and punish crimes," it said, adding that the Parliament was "covering up and beautifying criminals".

Government officials in Beijing and Hong Kong say that the law only targets a small number of "troublemakers" who threaten national security and that the rights and freedoms of ordinary Hong Kong people are protected.

The European Parliament said in the resolution that "fundamental freedoms, the rule of law and the judiciary's independence have alarmingly deteriorated in Hong Kong" since the implementation of the National Security Law.

Lai, who is in prison, is facing four charges under the security law and a colonial era sedition law. He has said he would plead not guilty at his trial, scheduled to begin in September.

Lai's son Sebastien said the European Parliament's resolution sent a "powerful message to Hong Kong that the targeting and imprisonment of my father and other prominent pro-democracy figures, in an attempt to silence them, is not going unnoticed by the international community".

(Reporting by Farah Master; Additional reporting by Jessie Pang, Anne Marie Roantree and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

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