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. Veteran Hong Kong publisher reveals mainland Chinese agents visited him over missing bookseller probe “The case involves a serious violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms and raises grave concerns about the rule of law under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle and the mainland authorities’ application of PRC laws to acts carried out by Hong Kong residents on Hong Kong soil.” The five associates of Causeway Bay Books, which sold publications critical of the Chinese Communist Party, went missing one after another starting in October last year. The EU report said one of them, Lee Po, who was last seen at a warehouse in Chai Wan on December 30, seemed to “have been abducted”. “The case has potentially lasting implications for Hong Kong’s rule of law,” the report said. Case of the ‘missing’ booksellers still leaves unanswered questions After he surfaced later on the mainland, Lee was handed over to Hong Kong authorities at the Lok Ma Chau border crossing last month. But Lee, a British citizen, stuck to his story that he had voluntarily gone to the mainland to assist in an investigation involving his colleague, Gui Minhai, who also disappeared and later appeared on the mainland. Lee and two of the other booksellers, Cheung Chi-ping and Lui Por, who also returned to Hong Kong, asked the local authorities to cancel their missing-person cases and refused any further assistance. Yesterday was the second time the EU has expressed concern about the bookseller controversy. In a statement issued on January 7, the EU urged mainland, Hong Kong and Thailand authorities to investigate and clarify the disappearance of the booksellers. Hong Kong people learn that Basic Law freedoms stop at the border On the city’s electoral reform, the EU encouraged the Hong Kong and central governments to resume the process and reach an agreement on an election system that is democratic, fair, open and transparent. “Universal suffrage would give the government greater public support and legitimacy for reaching Hong Kong’s economic objectives and tackling social challenges, such as the socio-economic and generational divides in Hong Kong society,” the report said.