China Will Destroy Hong Kong’s Autonomy

Reinhard Bütikofer, Chair of the China-Delegation in the European Parliament and foreign affairs spokesperson for the Greens/EFA group, comments on the National Security Law: “By imposing unilaterally the so-called National Security Law on Hong Kong, the leadership of the PRC is destroying Hong Kong’s autonomy. The promise of “One country, two systems” has been broken…

Hand-wringing for Hong Kong: What else can the EU do?

By Ian Bond China’s decision to impose a new security law on Hong Kong has been driven off Europe’s front pages by racial tension and violence in America and elsewhere. Beijing may think that it has got away with curtailing Hong Kong’s autonomy. EU leaders may think that having (feebly) protested, they can focus again on…

China Faces a Perfect Storm Over Hong Kong

Reacting to the unilateral decision by Beijing to introduce a national security legislation in Hong Kong, the Socialist and Democrats will support tomorrow the European Parliament’s resolution, condemning China’s move to strengthen its legal grip on the former British colony.  Ahead of the EU annual Summit with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in less than one…

#StandwithHongKong

Tomorrow, 11th June, the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs will hold a closed consultation on EU-China Relations with Gunnar Wiegand, Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific at the EEAS. In a statement last week, the ECR Group expressed its grave concerns about the unilateral introduction of national security legislation by Beijing against Hong…

Defending the EU against the Hybrid Warfare of China and Russia’s Disinformation Campaigns

Today, the Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell are assessing their steps to fight disinformation around the coronavirus pandemic and are proposing a way forward in a Joint Communication. The communiqué analyses the immediate response and proposes concrete action that can be quickly set in motion. High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell said: “Disinformation in times of…

Nuclear Arms Race

A new report has found nuclear-armed states spent a record $73 billion on nuclear weapons in 2019, a $14 billion increase from 2018 expenditures. The United States, the center of the global coronavirus pandemic, accounted for nearly half of that spending. As the economies of the US, China, France, and Russia all contract, their nuclear spending is…

European Parliament to Debate Hong Kong in June Plenary

As expected, the China’s Peoples Representative Committee adopted on Thursday 28th May a draft Security Law for Hong Kong, which has been widely interpreted as a breach of the international treaty registered with the United Nations, “The Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong”, signed in 1984 between China and the United Kingdom. The…

European Commission Kow Tows to China

In a decision that places Foreign Policy on a higher level than Healthcare Policy and apparently more important to the Berlaymont than saving European lives, the European Commission has bottled its support for Taiwan to be granted observer status at the WHO this week.  Taiwan, with the strong support of the United States, had lobbied…

Parliament Grills Borrell over Alleged Concessions to Chinese Propaganda

The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Chair David McAllister issued the following statement after Thursday’s debate with Josep Borrell on disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. “This afternoon, the Foreign Affairs Committee held an important debate with EU High Representative and Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell on the latest report by the European…