📡Guardians of Hong Kong
9.57K subscribers
21.6K photos
1.88K videos
27 files
9.99K links
We provide translation of news in English from local media and other sources, for academic use.
Facebook: http://bit.ly/BeWaterHongKong
Instagram: @guardiansofhk
Website: https://guardiansofhk.com/
Download Telegram
#Newspaper

Dawn of Asian century puts pressure on EU to choose sides, says top diplomat

There has been growing discussion in Europe on how to weave a path between China and the US with the seeming end of a US-led global system and the arrival of an Asian century.

The EU’s desire to be tougher on China has been held back by revulsion at Trump’s methods, China’s part in helping Europe’s economy recover in 2007-8 and comparisons between Russia and China as communist regimes in which China appeared to have a more positive image.

With the recent pandemic, however, the pressure to choose sides is growing for the European Union, which appears to be shifting to a more independent and aggressive posture towards Beijing. The shift is sped up by Beijing’s assault on the independence of Hong Kong and its refusal to open its markets.

China’s handling of the pandemic has also backfired with European public opinion and a recent poll showed that 71% Germans believed “greater transparency by China would have mitigated the corona epidemic”.

France and Germany have already become more vocal in their criticism of China with the German cabinet approving new laws to prevent foreign takeovers of medical companies. The challenge now is for European politicians to harness this new awareness to resist China without tumbling into Trump’s cold war.

Full Article: The Guardian
https://bit.ly/2ZIFJ8Q

Further reading:
Merkel Says EU Has ‘Strategic Interest’ in Working With China
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-27/merkel-says-eu-has-strategic-interest-in-working-with-china

#EuropeanUnion #coronavirus #ChinaUSrelations #ColdWar
#NationalSecurityLaw #1C1S
#EU Steps Up Sanction Over Beijing's Forceful Enforcement of National Security Law in Hong Kong

The following is the #statememt issued by European Union on July 28, 2020:

//Following an initial discussion in the Foreign Affairs Council on 13 July 2020, the Council today adopted conclusions expressing grave concern over the national security legislation for Hong Kong adopted by the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress on 30 June 2020.

The conclusions restate the EU's support for Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy under the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle, and its solidarity with the people of Hong Kong, whilst setting out a coordinated response package of measures in various fields.

These include among others:

- asylum, migration, visa and residence policy;

- exports of specific sensitive equipment and technologies for end use in Hong Kong;

- scholarships and academic exchanges involving Hong Kong students and universities;support to civil society;

- the operation of member states’ extradition arrangements and other relevant agreements with Hong Kong

Lastly the conclusions call for a review of the implementation of the national security law and of the impact of the EU response package before the end of the year.

Source: European Union #July28 #Brussels #EuropeanUnion #Sanction
#Statement #EuropeanUnion
The #EU Calls on the Hong Kong Authorities to Reconsider the Postponenent of the Legislative Election

//The proposed postponement by one year of the elections to the Legislative Council through recourse to emergency powers, would delay the renewal of its democratic mandate and call into question the exercise of the democratic rights and freedoms guaranteed under Hong Kong’s Basic Law.

The recent disqualification of pro-democracy candidates, including sitting lawmakers previously democratically elected by the people of Hong Kong, also weakens Hong Kong's international reputation as a free and open society. The protection of civil and political rights in Hong Kong is a fundamental part of the "One Country, Two Systems" principle, which the EU supports.//

Source: EU #Aug3
#LegCoElection
EU’s Flaccid Sanctions Still Anger Beijing. German Press: Xi Jinping Will Not Tolerate Any Criticism

Following Beijing’s move to forcibly impose the national security law on Hong Kong, the European Union (EU) launched sanctioning policies one month later to express its disapproval. A European newspaper opinion piece states that the EU’s sanctions paled in comparison to those of the US and the UK, nevertheless, Beijing still expressed unquenchable fury. The opinion piece says that this indicated “Xi Jinping’s world will no longer suffer any kind of criticism”, and calls on European countries to avoid being overly dependent on China, subjecting to its restrictions.

The *Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung* published an opinion piece titled “China’s Unreasonable Fury”, pointing out that even though the sanctions launched by the EU were flaccid, they were nonetheless symbolic. “By implementing the Hong Kong national security law, China has infringed on the Sino-British agreement. Just this one point is sufficient to illustrate that China’s claim that Hong Kong affairs are 'internal affairs' does not stand. When it comes to breaches on international agreements, the EU has every right to respond.”

The opinion piece also states that it is believable that even the Chinese government did not find the EU’s sanctions a huge blow, “But to Beijing, whether the sanctions were harsh was by itself unimportant. No matter how gentle the terms, Xi Jinping’s world will no longer suffer any kind of criticism.” The article also says that even as the EU’s sanctions seemed weak and flaccid, it was better than none, because under the current circumstance, it was also very important to put up a symbolic stance to indicate to China that Europeans did not approve of China’s ways.

Source: Apple Daily #Aug3

#EU #XiJinping #FAZ #Frankfurter #sanctions #EuropeanUnion #nationalsecuritylaw #nsl

https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20200803/ABQUR57UCYETDGHXGAZBXWE2LU/
Non-binding Bill Passed - The EU Parliament Will Not Recognise Lukashenko as Belarus President after November

The European Parliament passed a non-binding motion with a majority vote yesterday (17 Sep) that the parliament will no longer recognise Alexander Lukashenko as Belarus President after November, urging the European Union (EU) to impose economic sanctions on him. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will also investigate this presidential election. Lukashenko announced that some borders with Poland and Lithuania will be closed, and the border troops are on high alert.

Lukashenko’s current term will expire in November. He will be re-elected as the next president that month because he won the general election. However, the local opposition and many people believed that Lukashenko was involved in fraud in the election, which triggered a series of demonstrations and deportation of many opposition leaders. Maria Kolesnikova, the only female opposition leader who stayed in the country, was charged with incitement to undermine national security yesterday (17 Sep).

Source: Stand News #Sep18

#Belarus #EuropeanParliament #Lukashenko #BelarusPresident #MariaKolesnikova #EuropeanUnion
The EU’s 27 Member Countries Launch European “Magnitsky Act” to Sanction Human Rights Offenders, But Experts Worry Sanctions Against Powerful Countries Could be Difficult

The 27 member states of the European Union (EU) passed the European “Magnitsky Act” today (Dec 7) to set up a global human rights sanctions regime similar to those of the US, the UK and Canada. The act imposes sanctions such as travel restrictions and the freezing of funds on individuals committing serious human rights violations worldwide. After the bill was passed, the Council was to review the situation of Hong Kong under the national security law as well. The Wall Street Journal quoted a foreign affairs official in stating that whether the EU would impose sanctions on China for human rights abuses in Xinjiang would be the major challenge to the new act in the future.

The Council of the EU indicated that the global human rights sanctions regime that was passed this time was the first sanction system to be established by the EU. It targets individuals, entities, institutions and countries to keep them responsible for actions of severe human rights violations and abuses. The measures include travelling limitations, the freezing of funds and restrictions on fund transfers to and from those sanctioned. The Council will formulate, review and revise its sanctions list based on proposals from the 27 member states or the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

The global human rights sanction regime targets crimes including genocide, crimes against humanity and other serious human rights violations and abuses, such as torture, slavery, extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests or detentions.

Source: Stand News #Dec07

https://bit.ly/38jYNNm

#EuropeanUnion #EU #MagnitskyAct #Magnitsky #humanrights #humanrightsabuses #UnitedStates #US #UK #Canada #NationalSecurityLaw #HongKong #Xinjiang #China
Over 30 Human Rights Organisations Call the EU to Add a Human Rights Clause in the China-EU Investment Agreement and to be Tougher on the Issue in a Joint Petition

The European Union and China reached an agreement on the China-Europe Investment Agreement (CEI) last month. Hong Kong Global Connect, together with more than 30 human rights organisations around the world, signed a joint letter on Wednesday, asking the EU to be tougher on human rights issues in China and to reconsider the CEI and the inclusion of human rights clause in the agreement.

More than 30 organisations signed the letter and sent the letter to President of the European Council Charles Michel, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell, and the President of the European Parliament. Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and President of the European Parliament David Sassoli. The joint letter states that they are "deeply concerned" about the omission of the human rights clause from the final text of the agreement, which they believe that the EU will give a message about the promotion of close cooperation with China regardless of the scale or severity of human rights violations by the Chinese Communist Party.

The organisations noted that the EU has an agreed and moral obligation to respect democratic principles, the rule of law and human rights when negotiating with China. They also recommend the EU to ensure that China ratifies key conventions, including the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions, before acceding to the agreement. They also suggested that a human rights clause should be included in the EU-China Investment Agreement.

Hong Kong Global Connect, Hong Kong Watch, Human Rights in China, the International Federation for Human Rights, the International Campaign for Tibet, the World Uyghur Congress, and other human rights organisations signed the joint letter.

Source: Apple Daily #Jan13

https://hk.appledaily.com/international/20210113/WC3VWVZSRRCVJDJJ7WSMWJRSOA/

#EuropeanUnion #EU #China #EUChinaInvestmentAgreement #humanrightsissue #jointpetition #HongKongGlobalConnect #HongKongWatch #Tibetan #Uyghur #HumanRights #ChinaEU
Urging the European Union to Terminate the China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI).  Lord Patten: It Shows a Delusional View of the Chinese Communist Party's Trustworthiness on the International Stage
 
After the arrest of 53 democratic primary election organisers and participants on 6th January by Hong Kong Police Force, the last British governor of Hong Kong, Lord Patten, issued a statement urging the international community to speak out for Hong Kong, calling for the European Union to terminate the investment agreement with China. 
 
The statement from Lord Patten indicated that supporting democracy in Hong Kong is regarded as illegal nowadays and Hongkongers are forced to love the CCP. He called for the free democratic countries around the world to keep speaking out against Beijing’s destruction of a free society. “When terrible things are happening, we cannot look the other way”. 
 
China and Europe jointly announced in December 2020 that negotiations for the investment agreement were completed. The agreement is set to offer better entry of the European enterprises into China market. However, the agreement is not effective until the official ratification by the European Parliament. In his statement, Lord Patten described the agreement as a “miserable draft deal” and believed that it is a “massive strategic blunder”. 
 
#China #Beijing #Patten #HongKong #Democracy #PrimaryElection #Europe #EuropeanUnion #EU #CCP #CAI
 
Source from: The Stand News  #Jan06

https://bit.ly/30X1L74
#Court #PoliticalSuppression
#EU Office to Hong Kong and Macau Expresses “Great Concern” Over Ongoing Prosecution of Pro-democracy Figures

Source: Stand News #April1

Read more
⬇️⬇️⬇️
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/29359
#Court #PoliticalSuppression
#EU Office to Hong Kong and Macau Expresses “Great Concern” Over Ongoing Prosecution of Pro-democracy Figures

The #EuropeanUnion Office to Hong Kong and Macau posted on Twitter on the evening of April 1, 2021 to express great concern about the ongoing prosecution of political figures in Hong Kong.

The Office also said that it had sent staff to listen to the hearing of the 7 democratic activists who were found guilty on April 1, 2021 and would continue to monitor the development of the situation for possible future actions.

On August 18, 2021, the Civil Human Rights Front (#CHRF) held a "running assembly" in #VictoriaPark in Hong Kong. Martin Lee Chu-ming, founding chairman of the #DemocraticParty, Jimmy Lai Chee-Ying, founder of #AppleDaily, were among the 7 pro-democracy activists who have been convicted of organizing and participating in unauthorized assembly.

Charles Whiteley, Deputy Head of the European Union Office of Hong Kong and Macau, was also present in court on April 1, 2021. He mentioned that the EU is highly concerned about these cases and will closely monitor the situation in Hong Kong.

Source: Stand News #April1

https://www.thestandnews.com/politics/8-18-%E7%B6%AD%E5%9C%92%E6%A1%88-%E6%AD%90%E7%9B%9F%E6%B8%AF%E6%BE%B3%E8%BE%A7%E4%BA%8B%E8%99%95%E6%B4%BE%E5%93%A1%E8%81%BD%E8%A3%81%E6%B1%BA-%E9%AB%98%E5%BA%A6%E9%97%9C%E6%B3%A8-%E6%9C%AC%E6%B8%AF%E6%8C%81%E7%BA%8C%E6%AA%A2%E6%8E%A7%E6%94%BF%E6%B2%BB%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9/

#EU #47democrats #PoliceState #HongKongProtests