On June 15, the European Parliament passed a resolution on Hong Kong with 483 votes in favor, 9 against, and 42 abstentions, calling on the Hong Kong government to immediately and unconditionally release Jimmy Lai, founder of the News media Apple Daily and other pro-democracy activists who have been convicted or detained under the National Security Law. It also called on the EU to sanction Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials involved in violating human rights in Hong Kong under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.
The resolution, proposed by German MEP Reinhard Bütikofer and Slovakian MEP Miriam Lexmann, among others, referred to China’s implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong, the forced closure of Apple Daily, the arrest of Jimmy Lai, and the detention of 32 pro-democracy activists and journalists on the 34th anniversary of June 4th Tiananmen Square Massacre. It called for the Hong Kong government to immediately release and drop all the charges against Jimmy Lai. It urged the EU Council to introduce targeted sanctions against Hong Kong leader John Lee and other CCP officials responsible for “the ongoing crackdown on human rights in Hong Kong.”
The resolution also expressed concern about the CCP’s continued use of various means of surveillance and intimidation against Chinese and people from Hong Kong people in Europe, calling on the EU and its member states to investigate and close any channels that assist China’s cross-border suppression campaign to protect vulnerable overseas Chinese communities in Europe.
In response to the resolution, a spokesperson for CCP’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office in Hong Kong issued a statement expressing strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the resolution.
