Former Hong Kong Governor Lord Patten has called on the EU to scrap its controversial trade agreement with China as it would ‘spit in the face of human rights’.
Former Hong Kong Governor Lord Patten has called on the EU to scrap its controversial trade agreement with China as it would ‘spit in the face of human rights’.
The call comes as 53 people were arrested yesterday on suspicion of ‘subversion’ in Hong Kong in a dramatic escalation of China’s crackdown on opposition in the city.
The sweep is the latest salvo in Beijing’s battle to stamp out opposition after millions hit the streets in 2019 with huge and sometimes violent democracy protests.
Lord Patten said if the EU went ahead with the economic deal with China, which has not yet been ratified by the European parliament, it would make a ‘mockery’ of Europe’s ambitions to be taken seriously as a global and economic player.
‘It spits in the face of human rights and shows a delusional view of the Chinese Communist Party’s trustworthiness on the international stage,’ he said.
In comments designed to resonate with Germany, which is a key advocate of the deal, Lord Patten said: ‘It is worth remembering, for all European politicians wherever they come from, that the Jewish community around the world has been outspoken about Xinjiang and in particular has drawn attention to the similarities between what is happening in that region today and the Holocaust in the 1940s.’
The call comes as 53 people were arrested yesterday on suspicion of ‘subversion’ in Hong Kong in a dramatic escalation of China’s crackdown on opposition in the city
Pro-democracy activist Lester Shum is led away by police in a Wednesday morning crackdown which saw more than 50 activists arrested in Hong Kong
The economic deal would allow European firms operate in China in electric cars, telecom cloud services and certain activities linked to air and maritime transport.
They will also be allowed to fully own units in the automotive sector, many financial services, private hospitals, advertising, real estate and environmental services, such as sewage.
Lord Patten added that it was ‘extraordinary’ that Europe seems to believe that China can be trusted to sign up to international labour standards.
‘Are we about to see the end of forced labour in Xinjiang and the development of a trade union movement in China? Forget it.’
Pro-democracy protesters defy Police crack down and national security law in October last year
He continued: ‘It is surely inconceivable that the European Parliament can support the miserable draft deal that the European commission wants to sign with Beijing.
‘It is a massive strategic blunder at a time when President [elect] [Joe] Biden will be seeking to put together an international partnership of liberal democracies to deal with the bullying loutish behaviour and assault on our international rules by Chinese Communists.
‘We should not be seeking to contain China but to constrain the Chinese Communist Party.’
His comments come after an American human rights lawyer, John Clancey, was among more than 50 people arrested in Hong Kong yesterday.
He was detained on suspicion of ‘subversion’ after national security police searched his law firm which is known for taking on human rights cases in the former British colony.
US human rights lawyer John Clancey was among those arrested in the Central district, becoming the first American detained under the national security law
Mr Clancey, who was granted bail today, is the first US national arrested under the draconian new security law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong last year. He is a veteran legal activist and a fluent Cantonese speaker who lives in the city that was roiled by protests last year.
‘Continue to work for democracy and human rights in Hong Kong,’ he told reporters as he was led away by officers. He has not made a comment since he was granted bail.
Police confirmed 53 people were arrested for ‘subversion’ in an early morning operation that involved some 1,000 officers.
The charges were sparked by an attempt by opposition groups last year to win a majority in the city’s partially-elected legislature.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today threatened sanctions against individuals and organizations involved in the arrest of dozens of Hong Kong democracy figures, voicing anger that an American was among those rounded up.
Pompeo said the 53 people arrested Wednesday ‘should be released immediately and unconditionally’.
‘The United States will not stand idly by while the people of Hong Kong suffer under Communist oppression,’ Pompeo said in a late-night statement after a day of political violence in Washington.
‘The United States will consider sanctions and other restrictions on any and all individuals and entities involved in executing this assault on the Hong Kong people.’
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today threatened sanctions against individuals and organizations involved in the arrest of dozens of Hong Kong democracy figures, voicing anger that an American was among those rounded up
Pompeo, who remains in office for two weeks, said the United States would also ‘explore restrictions’ against the financial hub’s trade representative office in Washington.
Pompeo, a vehement critic of Beijing, said he was ‘appalled’ by the arrest of John Clancey.
‘Let me be clear: The United States will not tolerate the arbitrary detention or harassment of US citizens,’ he said.
Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for China’s foreign ministry, said Pompeo’s statement was ‘in serious violation of the norms governing international relations’, and urged the secretary of state to ‘stop interfering in China’s internal affairs’.
‘For a period of time, we have seen a minority of anti-China politicians in the Trump administration continue to stage their final madness, unscrupulously using their remaining term to deliberately undermine China-US relations and serve their personal political interests,’ she said.
‘This kind of move goes against the trend of history and will surely be punished by history.’
Ben Chung, a member of a pro-democracy political group, is led away by police during the round-up of more than 50 Hong Kong opposition figures
Pompeo also announced that Kelly Craft, the US ambassador to the UN, would soon travel to Taiwan, calling the island ‘a reliable partner and vibrant democracy that has flourished despite CCP (Chinese Communist Party) efforts to undermine its great success’.
‘Taiwan shows what a free China could achieve,’ he added.
The outgoing Trump administration has sent a bevy of high-level diplomatic delegations to Taiwan in the last year as it clashes with China on trade, security and human rights. No date was given for Craft’s upcoming visit.
Hong Kong’s security chief John Lee described the arrests as ‘necessary’ and aimed at a group of people who tried to ‘sink Hong Kong into an abyss’.
But the operation sparked a rebuke from Antony Blinken, Joe Biden’s pick for Secretary of State, who said authorities were launching ‘an assault on those bravely advocating for universal rights’.
‘The Biden-Harris administration will stand with the people of Hong Kong and against Beijing’s crackdown on democracy,’ he added.
Western politicians accuse Beijing of dismantling the ‘one country, two systems’ arrangement which means the former British colony enjoys freedoms unknown in mainland China.
Those detained represented a broad cross-section of Hong Kong’s opposition, from veteran former pro-democracy lawmakers such as James To, Andrew Wan, Lam Cheuk-ting and Claudia Mo to a host of younger activists.
Among the youth campaigners were Gwyneth Ho, a former journalist turned social activist, district councillor Tiffany Yuen and Jeffrey Andrews, a campaigner known for working with ethnic minorities.
Colleagues of Joshua Wong, one of the city’s most famous democracy activists who is currently in jail, said via his official Facebook account that his home was searched.
The police operation also involved the media.
Three local news outlets – Stand News, Apple Daily and Inmediahk – said national security police visited to request documents.
‘This is a real night of the long knives, the largest single attack upon democracy in Hong Kong yet,’ said Antony Dapiran, a lawyer who has written books on the city’s protest movement.
Nathan Law, a prominent democracy leader who fled overseas last year, accused authorities of trying to ‘extinguish the flames of resistance’ with the latest arrests.
The foundations of Wednesday’s mass arrests were laid last summer when pro-democracy parties organised an unofficial primary for local legislative elections which were ultimately scrapped altogether.
Police outside Lester Shum’s office during the crackdown in the former British colony, where China is accused of dismantling the ‘one country, two systems’ arrangement
Only half the legislature’s 70-seats are popularly elected. The campaign’s aim was to win all 35 elected seats and take a majority in the legislature for the first time and try to block government policies.
More than 600,000 Hong Kongers turned out to vote in the unofficial poll which infuriated Beijing.
Chinese officials at the time warned any attempt to win a majority and block government policies constituted ‘subversion’ under the new security law.
The national security law was imposed on Hong Kong in late June in response to the 2019 protests, targeting acts Beijing deems to be secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
Officials said the security law would only target an ‘extreme minority’.
But it swiftly silenced dissent and outlawed a host of peaceful political views with dozens of prominent figures targeted even before Wednesday’s operation.
Over the course of the last year, prominent democracy supporters have been arrested, jailed, barred from politics or have fled overseas.
National security crimes carry a maximum of life in prison and bail is not usually granted for those who are charged.
The law also toppled the legal firewall between Hong Kong’s independent judiciary and the mainland’s Communist Party-controlled courts.
China has claimed jurisdiction over especially serious security crimes and has allowed its security agents to operate openly in the city for the first time.