EU resolution on Hong Kong media independence ‘a piece of rubbish paper’, Beijing offices overseeing city say
- Three Beijing offices overseeing Hong Kong affairs issue statements rejecting European Parliament resolution that called for action on city’s ‘deteriorating’ media freedoms, sanctions on top officials
- They urge European politicians to be ‘aware of the circumstances, respect the facts and not to shoot themselves in the foot’
Beijing offices overseeing Hong Kong have hit back at a European Parliament resolution calling for action on the “deterioration” of media independence in the city, labelling it “a piece of rubbish paper” and a “smear on its democracy and freedom”.
The rebuttals came a day after European lawmakers urged the European Commission and EU member states on Thursday to act on Hong Kong’s media freedoms and reiterate calls for sanctions on the city’s top officials, while proposing a review of Hong Kong’s status at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
But in statements issued on Friday, the cabinet-level Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), the office of the commissioner of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Beijing’s liaison office in the city shot down the validity of such suggestions.
The HKMAO said the calls for sanctions demonstrated the “arrogance, ignorance and shamelessness” of the European politicians and accused their countries of letting “children refugees die horribly at their border”.
“For us, the resolution on Hong Kong is nothing more than a piece of rubbish paper or a joke,” its spokesman said.
The liaison office warned that Hong Kong’s prosperity would be “linked to the 2,300 European businesses and the interests of 350,000 European citizens in the city”.