Hong Kong accuses European Parliament of ‘political hegemony, hypocrisy’ over call to repeal national security laws

City authorities also slam European Union’s lawmaking body after members call for sanctions against Chief Executive John Lee, as well as other officials

‘We must once again emphasise that the [Article 23 law] is a piece of legislation to defend against external forces that endanger our national security’, government adds

Reading Time:3 minutes

The European Parliament has also called for media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s unconditional release. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:03am, 26 Apr 2024Updated: 10:02pm, 26 Apr 2024

Hong Kong has accused the European Union’s lawmaking body of “political hegemony and hypocrisy” over a non-binding resolution that took aim at the city’s national security laws and called for media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s unconditional release.

City authorities on Thursday night also slammed the European Parliament over its push for sanctions against Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and other officials, calling the move “political grandstanding rife with ill intentions”.

A government spokesman began the strongly worded statement by stressing that Hong Kong had a constitutional duty to safeguard national security, which was an inherent right of all sovereign states.

“Many common law jurisdictions, including Western countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as well as Singapore, have enacted multiple pieces of legislation to safeguard national security,” he said.

“Turning a blind eye to that fact and making exaggerated remarks, the parliament has demonstrated typical political hegemony and hypocrisy with double standards.”

Members of the European Parliament on Wednesday used their last session before an election in June to adopt a non-binding urgency resolution that called for the repeal of Hong Kong’s domestic national security law and earlier legislation imposed by Beijing.