EU to restrict exports to Hong Kong over security law
BRUSSELS, Belgium — The European Union on Tuesday agreed to limit exports to Hong Kong of equipment that could be used for surveillance and repression after Beijing imposed a controversial new security law.
The bloc voiced "grave concern" over the new law, saying it would severely erode freedoms in Hong Kong that were supposed to be protected under the terms of its handover from Britain to China.
The EU has struggled to agree a united response to China. Member states deeply divided over whether to stand up to Beijing -- a hugely important trading partner -- or to try to cooperate with it.
But following a proposal by France and Germany, the 27 member states on Tuesday agreed to limit exports to Hong Kong of technology that could be used for "internal repression, the interception of internal communications or cyber-surveillance".
"The EU considers the national security legislation for Hong Kong... to be a matter of grave concern," said a statement from the EU council, where all member states' leaders have a seat.
"The EU is particularly concerned about the extensive erosion of rights and freedoms that were supposed to remain protected until at least 2047."
Along with the export restriction, the EU will also bring in measures to support the population of the former British colony, granting visas, scholarships and academic exchanges to make it easier for them to travel to Europe, diplomats said.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that with the new security law in place, "It makes sense to treat Hong Kong no differently from mainland China" when it comes to the export of equipment that can be used for repression.
Beijing on Tuesday announced the suspension of extradition treaties with Canada, Australia and Britain, following similar moves by those countries over the new law.
Hong Kong's former colonial ruler Britain suspended its extradition treaty last week saying the security law had "significantly changed key assumptions" including a provision to try certain cases in mainland China.
Beijing insists the security law is needed to restore stability in the financial hub after prolonged political unrest.
Millions march in Hong Kong in a powerful rebuke of an extradition law feared to expose them to China's capricious justice system.
Hong Kong national security police on Thursday detained four people, including the brother of prominent activist Dennis Kwok, one of eight fugitives with bounties on their heads for allegedly breaching national security.
The city's national security department "took in two men and two women from various districts in Hong Kong and Kowloon for investigation," a police source told AFP.
Among the four was the elder brother of former democracy lawmaker Dennis Kwok, who is currently in the United States.
"(Kwok's elder brother) is now under investigation in the Western District police station," the source said.
Three others, "two women and a man", were taken in Tuesday by the national security department, authorities told AFP earlier Thursday.
AFP has requested comment from police on the most recent detentions. — AFP
Three family members of exiled democracy activist Nathan Law have been taken in for questioning on Tuesday, days after authorities issued a bounty on him and seven others accused of breaching the city's national security law.
Police officers from the national security department brought in Law's parents and elder brother without formally arresting them, a police source confirmed to AFP.
"It's understood that officers from the NSD took three people -- Nathan Law's parents and elder brother -- in for questioning," they said.
"So far, no arrest has been made." — AFP
The United States condemns Hong Kong authorities for issuing bounties linked to democracy activists based abroad, saying the move sets a dangerous precedent that could threaten human rights.
Hong Kong police offered bounties of HK$1 million (about $127,600) for information leading to the capture of eight prominent dissidents who live abroad and are wanted for national security crimes.
"The United States condemns the Hong Kong Police Force's issuance of an international bounty" against the eight activists, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says in a statement.
"The extraterritorial application of the Beijing-imposed National Security Law is a dangerous precedent that threatens the human rights and fundamental freedoms of people all over the world," he adds, saying China is engaging in "transnational repression efforts."
"We call on the Hong Kong government to immediately withdraw this bounty, respect other countries' sovereignty, and stop the international assertion of the National Security Law imposed by Beijing." — AFP
Hong Kong's top court has quashed the conviction of a journalist in relation to her investigation into an attack on democracy supporters by government loyalists in 2019.
It was a rare victory for the press industry in a city where two major independent news outlets have been forced to shut down since Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020.
"Happy -- I could not think of another word that can describe my mood right now," veteran journalist Bao Choy said outside the Court of Final Appeal after the judgement was handed down.
"I think this kind of happiness belongs to everyone in society." — AFP
Hong Kong police detained Alexandra Wong, a prominent democracy activist better known as "Grandma Wong" on Sunday, the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, AFP reporters said.
Wong was carrying flowers in Hong Kong's Causeway Bay shopping district, an area that for years was the site of June 4, 1989, commemorations, before authorities escorted her to a police van. AFP reporters saw a total of six people bundled into police vehicles. — AFP
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