Hong Kong’s leading counter-delivery leader Wong Chi-fung was sentenced to 13 and a half months in jail on December 2 for “inciting others to knowingly participate in an unauthorized assembly,” while co-defendant Chow Ting and former Hong Kong Public Opinion Chairman Lam Long-yen were sentenced to 10 months and 7 months in jail, respectively. The Inter-Parliamentary Union issued a statement condemning the sentencing of the three men as a violation of the rule of law and an indication of Beijing’s insistence on violating Hong Kong’s Basic Law by depriving Hong Kong citizens of their basic rights, and a statement by 69 members of parliament from the United States, the European Union, and Japan.
The statement argues that the verdict against Huang Zhifeng and others goes far beyond the responsibility they must bear for their actions. It praised their personal courage and their efforts to fight for freedom and democracy. The announcement calls on the international community to take swift and concrete action to hold Beijing accountable for its violations of the freedoms and human rights of the people of Hong Kong, in compliance with international treaties.
French Senator André Gattolin, a member of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, expressed his outrage at the Hong Kong court’s decision and his concern for the fate of the 12 young Hong Kong people who will be tried in mainland China. He expects the European Union to quickly adopt the European Union’s Magnitsky Act at the EU summit next week, which would impose sanctions on the Beijing government and officials of the Hong Kong government for serious human rights violations.
In addition, the French National Assembly on Wednesday held a video hearing on Hong Kong issues, a number of members of the French political parties from both sides of the political aisle participated in the video hearing, the participants were unanimous concern about how France should assist the young people of Hong Kong to fight for freedom and how to defend the French values of freedom and human rights. One of the invited experts on China, Antoine Bondaz, a researcher at the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (FRS), called on France to increase residency for Hong Kong students who wish to stay in France, and on President Macron to honor the promises he made when he was elected in 2017 to publicly defend the values of France. Chen Wenxiong, a member of the French ruling party and Chairman of the France-China Friendship Committee in the French National Assembly, also expressed his support for the call to assist Hong Kong students in France. However, he argued that making a high-profile announcement defending the idea of democratic freedoms lacks practical utility.
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