On Wednesday 28 April, MEPs denounced Chinese sanctions against some of their colleagues and members of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights.
“The sanctions are not only targeted against individuals and entities, but also principles: freedom of discussion, respect for contradictory opinions, promotion of fundamental rights”, said Emmanuel Maurel (The Left, France).
Undaunted by these measures, MEPs threatened not to vote for the EU-China investment agreement.
“Let us refuse to vote for the agreement with China as long as we are sanctioned; it is a question of our dignity and that of the people we represent. To be or not to be, we have to answer this question”, said the Frenchman Raphaël Glucksmann, himself subject to Chinese measures, on behalf of the S&D. “Let’s not be afraid, we will be strong if we decide to be”, he added.
More broadly, given the situation in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, Emmanuel Maurel believes ratifying this agreement would be absurd. “It will give the impression that we are only interested in business and that we are indifferent to human rights and democracy”, he explained, calling for the agreement to be rejected.
On behalf of the Renew Europe group, Ilhan Kyuchyuk of Bulgaria - who is sanctioned by China - said that “strong and enforceable” clauses in the agreement and the lifting of sanctions should be insisted upon.
The Italians Marco Campomenosi on behalf of the ID group and Fabio Massimo Castaldo (NI) hoped that the European Parliament would vote against the agreement.
The MEPs also warned that dialogue with Beijing would not resume while some MEPs are sanctioned. “We will not accept continuing the dialogue (with China) as long as the Chinese continue to sanction us arbitrarily because we speak freely”, warned Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White (Spain) for the EPP. “If we want a real dialogue (with China), we must act immediately to remove the sanctions against us, for China to ratify the International Labour Organization conventions, and for there to be an investigation into the camps in Xinjiang”, added Mr Castaldo (Italy).
For Mr Kyuchyuk, it is also “high time to rethink the strategic relationship with China, as it is fraught with the risk of political division”. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)