In response to the Communist Party’s “anti-sanctions” measures, EU countries have summoned the Communist Party’s local ambassador.
After the EU sanctioned Chinese officials over human rights in Xinjiang, the Communist Party announced retaliatory sanctions. EU member states have summoned the Chinese ambassador to protest the move. The Swedish Foreign Ministry also lodged a serious protest and said it would respond directly to the Chinese consulate. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman jumped again.
As of 4:42 p.m. Beijing Time on Wednesday (March 24), eight European Union countries have summoned or will soon summon their ambassadors in response to China’s “counter-sanctions” measures.
The Communist Party’s sanctions list includes 10 Europeans, including members of the European Parliament (5) and members of parliament from the Netherlands and Belgium. The sanctions list also includes four institutions. These institutions are the Political and Security Committee of the Council of the European Union, which has criticized the Chinese Communist Party, the European Parliament’s Sub-Committee on Human Rights, the German Mercator Center for Chinese Studies, and the Danish Democratic Union Foundation.
In response to the CCP’s sanctions, EU member states Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and Lithuania each summoned the CCP’s accredited ambassador on Tuesday. The Netherlands summoned the Chinese ambassador to The Hague on Monday to protest the sanctions against Dutch MP Sjoerd Sjoerdsma.
The Hong Kong Economic Times reported that Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde, who is in Brussels for a meeting of EU foreign ministers, also lodged a serious protest. In an interview with Swedish television (SVT) on Tuesday, Linde reportedly said she would respond directly to the Chinese consulate.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying reacted to the EU’s summoning of the Chinese ambassador at a regular press conference on Wednesday, saying that the EU has double standards and that China “does not provoke, provoke or fear trouble and will not be blackmailed. The Chinese side does not accept the summoning of Chinese ambassadors by some countries.
The European Union on Tuesday sanctioned four Chinese officials and the Public Security Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps for alleged violations of the rights of China’s Uighur Muslim minority in Xinjiang. China then announced 1 sanctions against 10 people and 4 institutions in Europe.
The following are the main statements made by EU foreign ministers to counter retaliatory sanctions by the Chinese Communist Party.
German Foreign Minister
The German government insists on meeting with Wu because the Chinese (CCP) sanctions against German parliamentarians and scholars are “totally unreasonable”. It is unacceptable that the EU imposes sanctions on China because of human rights issues, compared to the Chinese (CCP) sanctions against “democracy and democratic institutions”.
Swedish Foreign Minister
The Chinese side must give reasons for sanctioning the Swedish institutions and individuals concerned. The sanctions seem to be purely to punish those who express their views, which is totally unacceptable.
Foreign Minister of Denmark
The Chinese (CCP) sanctions are an attack on the freedom of expression of European and Danish citizens.
Italian Foreign Ministry
According to French media reports, the Italian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement on Wednesday that it will summon the Chinese ambassador to Italy on Thursday and will talk about the sanctions imposed by China on the EU.
French Foreign Ministry
Citing French Foreign Ministry sources, Reuters said on Tuesday that France had also summoned Chinese Ambassador Lu Shano on Tuesday to stress that the insults and threats made by the Chinese Communist Party against French lawmakers and a researcher were “unacceptable” and to protest Beijing’s decision to sanction some European officials.
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said the Chinese counter-sanctions were “regrettable and unacceptable”. China has not changed its policy and responded to the EU’s legitimate concerns, and the measures have created a new atmosphere.
Borrell again reiterated that the CCP’s countermeasures will not shake the EU’s decision to continue defending human rights, and that it is “perfectly” coordinated for the UK, US and Canada to successively comply with EU sanctions against China.
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