The European Union on Thursday 11 March, in the evening, denounced the decision earlier in the day by the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China to change the electoral system in Hong Kong (see EUROPE 12672/4).
This decision “will have a significant impact on democratic accountability and political pluralism in Hong Kong”, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said in a declaration on behalf of the EU. He said the decision “will lead to a concentration of power and influence in the Hong Kong Election Committee” and “a reduction in the proportion of directly elected representatives in the Hong Kong Legislative Council”.
This decision also “erodes the ability of Hongkongers to be legitimately represented and to directly influence the decisions” that the Legislative Council makes, the High Representative explains.
For Mr Borrell, “these changes run counter to the commitments to greater democratic representation through universal suffrage as the ultimate aim for the selection of the Chief Executive and the election of the Legislative Council as enshrined in Article 45 and 68 of the Basic Law”.
The High Representative therefore considers the decision to be “yet another breach of the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle, and another violation of China’s international commitments and the Hong Kong Basic Law”. Fundamental freedoms, democratic principles and political pluralism “were meant to be protected until at least 2047”, as agreed in the Sino-British Declaration, Mr Borrell lamented.
Calling on the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to restore confidence in the City-state’s democratic process and end the persecution of those who defend democratic values, the High Representative warns that the EU will consider taking additional steps and pay increased attention to the situation in Hong Kong as part of the overall relations with China (see EUROPE 12664/6).
Beijing has already announced that it will not make any concessions on this reform.
On Friday 12 March, the European Commission and the High Representative estimated in their annual report on Hong Kong, “erosion of Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and of rights and freedoms that were meant to be protected until at least 2047 has accelerated markedly in 2020” for the City-state.
“The imposition of the National Security Law and the deterioration of the situation in Hong Kong in 2020 have had a negative impact on the business environment”, the report explains.
Hong Kong is home to 1,560 European companies and 163 billion euros of European investment.
For the first time, in 2020, the annual structured dialogue between the EU and Hong Kong did not take place.
See the EU declaration: http://bit.ly/3qGlulO and the report: https://bit.ly/38tNOSj (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)