The following statement was issued today by leading MEPs following the decision by Chinese authorities to sanction the Subcommittee on Human Rights and other European entities and officials.
“We take note of the decision by the Chinese authorities to impose sanctions in retaliation to the Council’s decision of 22 March to impose sanctions on four Chinese officials and one entity.”
“The Subcommittee on Human Rights has a duty to monitor the human rights situation across the world and to promote and protect these rights in accordance with the values and objectives on which the European Union is founded, namely, the principle of universality of human rights. We believe that China’s measures aim to undermine our work.”
“We wish to express our solidarity with other parliamentarians, European universities, think tanks and academics who have also been targeted by these sanctions.”
“Regarding the situation in China, we reiterate our serious concerns about the abuses in the country, in particular the persecution of the Uyghur minority in the province of Xinjiang, and the repression of all dissenting and opposition voices. We firmly condemn these acts and the Chinese government’s recent attempts to interfere in the democratic life of our nations and our European Union.”
“As elected Members of the European Parliament, we will continue to actively denounce human rights violations and breaches of international law, and to urge the EU to keep the respect of human rights at the core of all its external policies.”
This statement is co-signed by:
David McAllister (EPP, Germany), Chair of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee;
Maria Arena (S&D, Belgium), Chair of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights;
Raphaël Glucksmann (S&D, France), Chair of the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the European Union, including Disinformation;
Reinhard Bütikofer (The Greens/EFA, Germany), Chair of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with the People’s Republic of China.
