European Parliament passes resolution calling Hong Kong to withdraw extradition bill among others

DHARAMSALA, July 19: The European Parliament voted on Thursday to adopt a resolution on Hong which called for the Hong Kong government to completely withdraw the controversial extradition bill among others.

The resolution passed on the 18 July by the European Parliament which acts as the European Union’s legislative branch also condemned the Chinese regime for “constant and increasing interference” in the city’s internal affairs and violating its promise to preserve Hong Kong’s autonomy after sovereignty was handed back from Britain in 1997, reports the Epoch Times.

The resolution further called on the Hong Kong government uphold the basic human rights and introduce reforms to allow universal suffrage in electing the city’s officials while urging for the EU, its Member States and the international community to work towards the imposition of appropriate export control mechanisms to deny China, and in particular Hong Kong, access to technologies used to violate basic rights, according to report on HKFP.

The report further said that the resolution was jointly proposed by 85 parliamentary members across the political spectrum in the EU Parliament while Members of parliament from the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Croatia, Cyprus have reportedly spoken in support of the resolution during the 20-minute debate. It was passed by a majority vote in the house.

Reinhard Bütikofer, a German politician of the Greens–European Free Alliance, was quoted as saying in the report that the EU foreign policy should be based on fundamental values such as human rights, rule of law and democracy.

“When we see people rising in defence of their civic and human rights, we as Europeans must express our solidarity, and this is what we do with the people of Hong Kong through this resolution,” he said.

Additionally, Antony Hook, a British politician of the Renew Europe Group has said in the report that the Hong Kong police has used force and violence against protesters that were “unnecessary.”

“We say to the people of Hong Kong that the people of Europe stand with you. We say to the government of Hong Kong and China that we implore you to respect the dignity and the rights of every single individual, and then together we can build a world of peace and justice for everyone,” he said.

The resolution also called on the Hong Kong authorities to immediately release and drop charges against the peaceful protesters and set up an independent investigation into the use of force by its police force.

Meanwhile, China has strongly condemned the resolution. The resolution contained “ignorance, bias and hypocritical double standards,” a spokesperson from the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s office in Hong Kong was quoted as saying in the report.

“The relevant lawmakers recklessly smear ‘One Country, Two Systems’ and the central government’s policy towards Hong Kong – clearly they have turned black into white and have ulterior motives,” it said.