Around two million people took to the streets on Sunday in Hong Kong against the extradition bill despite it being suspended by the territory’s chief executive Carrie Lam.
Reacting to the situation, the European Green Party co-chairs Reinhard Bütikofer and Monica Frassoni said:
“The events in Hong Kong are a turning point in the city’s history. The formula ‘one country, two systems’ that guarantees independence from mainland China on legal, economic and financial affairs, including trade relations with foreign countries for 50 years until 2047 is de facto being eroded by China’s Communist Party that is seeking to wrest back full control of the territory.”
The co-chairs of the EGP point out that the extradition law would effectively expose Hong Kong’s judicial system to complete control by Beijing’s authorities.
“So far, Hong Kong’s democratic resistance has inflicted a massive defeat on Beijing’s strategy. Within just a week, first one million took to the streets, then nearly two million people to defend their freedom. This commitment in a city where seven million people live is unprecedented. This is not an isolated incident, but a epoch-defining moment,” added Bütikofer and Frassoni.
“Beijing’s censorship of what is happening in Hong Kong will not succeed. The representatives of the European institutions must speak with one voice in supporting this courageous fight for democratic values and the freedom of speech. As a Chinese proverb states the Chinese authorities are “lifting a stone only to drop it on their own feet.”
