Hong Kong slams EU report claiming ‘deterioration of fundamental freedoms’ in the city

Hong Kong authorities have hit back against a European Union (EU) report that described what it called “continuous erosions” in the city’s political freedoms and autonomy.

The annual report on Hong Kong, issued on Tuesday by the European Commission and the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, highlighted a “continued deterioration of fundamental freedoms” due to “the Hong Kong government’s incessant focus on national security in the fifth year after the imposition of the National Security Law.”

“The HKSAR Government strongly opposes the absurd and false contents in the EU’s so-called report,” the government said in an over 4,500-word rebuttal on Wednesday. 

“It is each and every sovereign state’s inherent right, under international law and international relations based on the Charter of the United Nations, to enact laws safeguarding national security,” the statement read, adding that various EU member states have also enacted national security legislation.

National security trials

The 37-page EU report noted ongoing legal proceedings against former pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, who was convicted on national security and sedition charges in December last year.

“Lai, a British citizen, has been held in custody continuously since 31 December 2020, mostly in solitary confinement,” the EU report read.

It also pointed to the case brought against Tiananmen vigil organisers the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, and new prosecutions initiated against student protest leader Joshua Wong under both the NSL and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO), known locally as Article 23.

The report also remarked on the charges brought against Kwok Yin-sang, the father of exiled activist Anna Kwok, who was prosecuted for attempting to deal with his daughter’s financial assets. “This was the first time a relative of a wanted activist was charged with a national security offence,” it said.

The issuing of bounties on 15 overseas activists for their alleged involvement in an unofficial “Hong Kong Parliament”—including an EU citizen in Germany—represented further “extra-territorial application of the [national security law],” according to the report.

On LGBTQ rights, the EU report described “a mixed picture” in Hong Kong.

While court rulings supported the advancement of LGBTQ rights, the legislature voted down a same-sex partnership bill introduced by the government in response to a 2023 court ruling that requested authorities to pass a framework for recognising same-sex partnerships.

‘Humane’ prison conditions

In its response to the EU report, Hong Kong authorities said that the city’s national security laws meet human rights standards and have allowed the city to prosper economically.

“In fact, the implementation of the HKNSL (Hong Kong National Security Law) in the past six years or so has enabled the livelihood and economic activities of the Hong Kong community at large to swiftly resume to normal and the business environment to be restored and improved continuously,” the official statement read.

It also said that Jimmy Lai had received “a fair trial” before conviction, and added that the city’s Correctional Services Department always ensures that prison conditions are “safe [and] humane.”

“Any attempt by foreign countries or external forces to undermine Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability by slandering the city will only expose their own weakness and faulty arguments and be doomed to fail,” the government statement said.

Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.

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