EU issues scathing annual report attacking Beijing on Hong Kong missing booksellers case and stalling of electoral reform
European Union says handling of bookseller case was “the most serious challenge” to one country, two systems since the city’s handover to China
In a highly critical annual report on Hong Kong released on Monday, the European Union urged Beijing to restore the trust placed by the city’s residents and the international community in the “one country, two systems” policy following the case of the missing booksellers.
The EU called on Beijing and the Hong Kong government to resume the political reform process that was shelved after the government could not secure enough support for it in the Legislative Council.
The report also highlighted Hong Kong’s difficulties in recruiting judges and the low fees paid to lawyers in legal aid cases, saying they should be addressed to ensure that the judiciary continued to function effectively.
The EU described the case of the five booksellers who went missing late last year and later surfaced on the mainland as “the most serious challenge” to one country, two systems since the city’s handover to China, and warned it could undermine Hong Kong’s standing as an international business centre.
The disappearance of the booksellers, two of whom hold EU citizenship, had called into question the functioning of the formula under which Beijing pledged a high degree of autonomy for the former British colony, the report read.