EU parliament calls for sanctions over jailing of Hong Kong activists

The European Parliament has urged the European Commission to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials in response to the imprisonment of three activists. The trio, Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, Chow Hang-tung, 41, and Albert Ho, 74, received up to seven-year jail sentences for organizing vigils to commemorate victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

These sentences have sparked global outrage. MEPs approved a non-binding resolution condemning the sentences, which were handed down under a national security law implemented in Hong Kong in 2020 following extensive pro-democracy demonstrations. Hong Kong and Macau are the only regions within China that permit public mourning for those who perished on June 4, 1989, when Beijing deployed troops and tanks to suppress protests advocating for political reform in Tiananmen Square.

However, such public remembrances have been largely prohibited in recent years. The MEPs are urging the European Commission to utilize the bloc's human rights sanctions mechanism against all pertinent Hong Kong and Chinese officials. They also propose that the commission begin the process of suspending Hong Kong's membership in the World Trade Organization, where it currently operates as an independent member distinct from China.

"Hong Kong has transformed into a tool for Beijing's foreign policy, a conduit for bypassing EU sanctions against Russia, and regrettably, a place devoid of any democratic space," remarked conservative deputy Miriam Lexmann, representing Slovakia during the session.