Appeal to EU to uphold human rights in China as much as trade and security
On the eve of the EU-China Summit tomorrow in Beijing, 17 NGOs sent an open letter to Commission President von der Leyen and European Council President Costa, expressing their concern about China’s political prisoners, Uyghur repression, religious freedom, and the Hong Kong national security law.
Brussels (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Some 17 groups defending human rights in China released an open letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, on the eve of the EU-China Summit scheduled in Beijing on 24-25 July.
In it, they “urge the EU and its member states to confront this human rights crisis, which increasingly affects not only people across China but also people worldwide, with the same determination to identify and commit to alternative approaches as it is now setting out on security and trade issues.”
The highly anticipated event comes at a time when – driven by a trade war – China and the European Union appear to be seeking new deals.
For the signatories (which include Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, the Chinese Human Rights Defenders network and the World Uyghur Congress), “new initiatives [should] be publicly articulated at the forthcoming Summit to build on and go beyond existing commitments set out in the March 2019 EU-China Strategic Outlook.”
“We appreciate the EU’s longtime support to independent civil society and human rights defenders across China, and welcome public remarks, such as strong statements at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, identifying particular cases of concern,” reads the letter. “We thank the EU for condemning the arbitrary detention of human rights legal activists Xu Yan and Yu Wensheng, who were detained en route to meeting with EU officials.”
Despite this, Xi Jinping and China’s leadership “are confident in their impunity for widespread arbitrary detention, forced assimilation, forced labour and torture in China; and transnational repression, including in Europe.” For this reason, “Chinese authorities not only refuse to comply with the vast majority of their international human rights obligations, they also seek to rewrite global human rights norms and weaken key international institutions.”
The signatories want “to use the Summit to ensure justice for victims and survivors of Beijing’s violations and abuses by publicly” calling for specific actions, including the immediate and unconditional release of human rights defenders detained for their work, explicitly naming individual cases, like Hong Kong essayist Gui Minhai (an EU citizen) and Uyghur intellectual Ilham Tohti, a Sakharov Prize winner.
They also call for reaffirming the commitments made at the G7 to end transnational repression by the Chinese government, both in EU member states and elsewhere, through intimidation, surveillance, threats or acts of physical violence, threats to family members, and digital repression, not to mention sexual harassment of women.
Another point is the defence of the right to religious freedom, brought back to the forefront in recent weeks by the issue of the selection of the next Dalai Lama.
Finally, the 17 groups call for the urgent repeal of legislation like Hong Kong’s national security law, which is incompatible with international legal obligations.
“After 50 years of EU-China relations, the EU should take stock of deepening Chinese government repression inside and outside the country, and express solidarity with people across China who seek to exercise, uphold and defend human rights.”
In fact, “The EU’s recent decision to cancel an economic and trade dialogue with the Chinese government over serious differences suggests a willingness to pressure Beijing in new and different ways.”
Thus, “Grave and worsening human rights violations by Chinese authorities should motivate new strategies. Without those, people across China – and in Europe – are increasingly at risk.”
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10/07/2020 13:33
23/06/2020 09:33
