Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Britain, EU Join U.S. In Condemning China's Crackdown On Hong Kong Lawmakers

Britain, EU Join U.S. In Condemning China's Crackdown On Hong Kong Lawmakers

Britain and the European Union on Thursday condemned China's move to disqualify four pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong - an action that has led to the mass resignation of the opposition in the city's legislature.
The move follows the approval on Wednesday by China's National People's Congress Standing Committee of a resolution giving Hong Kong authorities the power to bypass local courts and summarily remove politicians seen as a threat to security.

Four Hong Kong lawmakers who support the territory's pro-democracy movement were quickly unseated, prompting opposition lawmakers to resign en masse as a show of solidarity.

The resolution effectively gives Beijing veto power over who sits in Hong Kong's Legislative Council, or Legco, and the mass resignation of the opposition leaves the assembly with no dissenting voices.

London on Thursday accused China of breaching the agreement that laid the groundwork for the handover of Hong Kong nearly a quarter century ago. The Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed in 1984, spelled out the "one country, two systems" philosophy meant to afford the former British colony a large measure of autonomy.

The U.K.'s minister for Asia, Nigel Adams, told Parliament that London was considering sanctions against individuals in China. "It's not entirely appropriate to speculate who may be designated under the sanctions regime in the future as that could reduce the impact, but we are carefully considering further designations under the scheme."

The EU on Thursday called Beijing's move a "severe blow" to Hong Kong's autonomy and called for the resolution to be immediately reversed.

"This latest arbitrary decision from Beijing further significantly undermines Hong Kong 's autonomy under the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle," the EU's 27 governments said in a statement. "These latest steps constitute a further severe blow to political pluralism and freedom of opinion in Hong Kong," they said.

U.S. national security adviser Robert O'Brien on Wednesday also criticized the move, saying in a statement: " 'One Country, Two Systems' is now merely a fig leaf covering for the CCP's expanding one party dictatorship in Hong Kong," referring to China's Communist Party.

On Monday, the Trump administration announced sanctions on an additional four Chinese officials in response to the national security law.

In July, the Trump administration signed legislation and an executive order sanctioning Beijing for its national security law.

"Hong Kong will now be treated the same as mainland China," Trump said at the time. "No special privileges, no special economic treatment and no export of sensitive technologies."

The 15 remaining opposition lawmakers walked out of the chamber on Thursday. In an act of defiance, one of them unfurled a banner saying of the city's Beijing-appointed leader, Carrie Lam, that she will "stink for 10,000 years." Lam has defended the ouster of the four legislators as lawful.

Beijing's liaison office called the mass walkout a "farce" and said it demonstrated the lawmakers' "stubborn resistance" to China's authority.

"Opposition lawmakers have used their public post as a tool of political manipulation," a spokesperson said for China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. "If these lawmakers hope to make use of their resignation to provoke radical opposition and beg for foreign interference, they have miscalculated."

Democratic Party chairman Wu Chi-wai said the resignations won't officially take effect until Dec. 1. "This is for us to handle the dismissal of our staff members and assistants," he said.

Last year, major protests in Hong Kong erupted over a proposed extradition bill that would have allowed some people accused of crimes in the territory to be transferred to mainland China to face courts there. The bill was later withdrawn, but Beijing later approved a sweeping national security law that provides for harsh penalties for supporting secession, subversion of state power, terrorism or collusion with foreign entities.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
×