The European Union and the United States have issued back-to-back condemnations of the sentencing of Hong Kong media mogul Lai Chi-ying and other pro-democracy activists, with a spokesman for the UN secretary-general stressing that there should be no prisoners of conscience in the 21st century.
In a statement issued Friday (April 16), a spokesman for the European Union expressed grave concern over the persecution of pro-democracy activists by the Hong Kong authorities.
Ten prominent Hong Kong democrats were sentenced today (April 16) in two separate cases for their participation in peaceful demonstrations, the statement said. Among those sentenced were Martin Lee, Albert Ho, Jimmy Lai, Margaret Ng, Cyd Ho, Lee Cheuk-yan, Leung Kwok-hung, Au Nok-hin, and Leung Yiu-chung. (Cyd Ho), Lee Cheuk-yan (Lee Cheuk-yan), Leung Kwok-hung (Leung Kwok-hung), Au Nok-hin (Leung Yiu-chung) and Yeung Sum (Yeung Sum). Their sentences ranged from 8 months to 18 months, with 5 of them suspended for 8 to 12 months. The new sentences follow those handed down to Joshua Wong and Size-yiu Koo on April 13.
The statement points to the non-violent actions of individuals who have taken part in the exercise of their legally protected civil rights and the resulting long prison sentences as a new sign of the shrinking democratic space in Hong Kong and the continued erosion of fundamental freedoms. The right to exercise fundamental freedoms such as peaceful assembly must be guaranteed, as guaranteed by the Hong Kong Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
In its statement, the EU noted that these developments in Hong Kong undermine trust, affect the EU’s relations with China and raise doubts about China’s willingness to meet its international commitments.
Earlier in the day, U.S. Secretary of State John Blinken also issued a written statement condemning the sentencing of pro-democracy figures, including Next Media founder Lai Chi-ying and Democratic Party founding chairman Lee Chu-ming, by a Hong Kong court that day. He said the charges were “politically motivated.
“Beijing and the Hong Kong authorities have targeted Hong Kong people for doing nothing more than exercising their protected rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of speech,” he said in the statement.
He added: “Today’s ruling is yet another example of how the People’s Republic of China and the Hong Kong authorities are undermining the protected rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration to eliminate all forms of dissent.”
The secretary of state said the United States will continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong and will not stop demanding the release of those detained or imprisoned for exercising their fundamental freedoms.
Secretary Blinken also condemned the sentencing on Twitter, tweeting with the hashtag “#StandWithHongKong.”
In response to the sentence, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), chairman of the U.S. Congress and the Administration’s China Committee, and Representative McGovern (D-Mass.), co-chairman of the committee, also issued a statement Friday condemning it.
“All those who work to restore autonomy and human rights to Hong Kong should condemn these convictions. These are clearly political prosecutions,” they said in the statement. “Almost no one predicted that there would one day be political prisoners in Hong Kong, and sadly, that is now the case, with more to come under the draconian National Security Law. Hong Kong’s democratic freedoms, guaranteed by international treaties, continue to be under attack. Chi-ying Lai faces other charges related to running a pro-democracy newspaper, which suggests that freedom of the press is also rapidly disappearing.”
Senator Merkley and Representative McGovern added, “The signals sent today should have serious implications for the relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. We stand ready to legislate for the people of Hong Kong and urge the Biden administration and the international community to hold accountable those who have conducted political prosecutions in Hong Kong.”
Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the United Nations, responded when asked at a regular press conference about the sentencing of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong.
He said, “First, the Secretary-General has consistently affirmed his recognition of the principles of China’s unity and territorial integrity; and his belief in respecting the will of the people of Hong Kong. As we have said in this case and others, and as the Secretary-General has said, there should be no prisoners of conscience in the 21st century.”
Asked if this meant that the Secretary-General condemned the sentences, the spokesman avoided a direct answer, instead referring the questioner to what he had just said.
Recent Comments