In the past week China’s Foreign Minster Wang Yi has been busy visiting European states, hoping to do some damage control to save Beijing’s reputation that was damaged in causing the spread of COVID-19. However, instead of whitewashing the country, Wang, a “wolf-warrior diplomat”, only seems to make things worse. Publicly threatening Czech that Beijing “will definitely make them pay a heavy price for their short-sighted behaviour and political opportunism (for visiting Taiwan)”, Wang has only further revealed the true nature of Beijing.

In the press conference German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass held with Wang, Wang was asked about the security law imposed on Hong Kong and the treatment for minority Uighurs. It is to a lot of Hong Kongers' surprise that, instead of the usual practise of requiring a dialogue, Mass called on China to withdraw the Hong Kong version of National Security Law and asked Hong Kong to hold elections for the Legislative Council as soon as possible, and spoke candidly of human rights in Xinjiang, hoping that China would agree on sending a UN observer team to the region. This is encouraging as Germany has demonstrated its principle of upholding values of democracy and freedom, taking a tough stance against Beijing’s violation of human rights.

On the same occasion Maas also announced that the German-Chinese dialogue on human rights affairs, which begins next week, will address Chinese government’s repression of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. The free world and those who are under suppression would love to see this dialogue progress beyond just a dialogue, and towards an actual change in the world that makes it a better place for those who are in East Turkestan (Xinjiang), Tibet, Mongolia, and ensure the situation in Taiwan and Hong Kong will not further deteriorate.

During a round table held by the Foreign Affairs Department of Germany earlier this week, groups representing Hong Kongers and other groups from China discussed human rights violation in the country. When Hong Kongers raised the issue of the official claims made by the Hong Kong government that is no separation of powers in the city, the German government representative attending that round table expressed his awareness of the issue and eagerness for knowing the development of it. At the same time, the 12 asylum seekers having been captured by Chinese coastal guards and being detained now were also brought up.

It was suggested that the Bundesregierung (The Federal Cabinet or Federal Government) should estimate the status quo in Hong Kong under the national security law, as the political and human rights landscape have definitely changed. And it is in no way that Hong Kong can be seen as the same city it was before. It was mentioned that the new draconian law will affect the work of NGOs in Hong Kong, as the law applies to them and enables authorities to request disclosure of their financial or political affiliations. It set a bad example for other Asian countries. It was also suggested that a clear and definite definition of the terms like “subversion”, “secession”, “collusion with foreign forces” be requested to make sure the law is not over inclusive. In the round table, the participants also raised the issue of ethnic minorities facing ethnic cleansing, the greatly deteriorating religion freedom, the suppression of native languages and the dominance of Putonghua, the difficulties in conducting scientific research in China, and forced labour in East Turkestan.

I believe, there is not high chance that all these will be mentioned in the dialogue between Germany and China. However, this is a start for Germany putting effort into understanding the circumstances and mentioning them.

Although the dialogue is a gesture of good will put forward by Germany, Beijing might not be happy to play along. I have observed changes in Chinese diplomatic rhetoric that suggests Beijing at this point is not approachable through dialogues. Any recent attempts to mildly criticize China or suggest a change have led to Beijing’s attacks on the accusations rather than refuting or explaining them with reasoning; countering unsubstantiated claims of defamation; either criticizing the host country for its poor handling of the epidemic and shifting the blame to China, or threatening with possible economic retaliation against the host country.

It is predictable that Beijing will only repeat the same narrative—urging foreign states to not intervene in China’s internal affairs, but mind their own business, which basically means the economic ties with China are not expendable. However, the narrative that Beijing keeps telling, “Germany is dependent on the Chinese market”, is but a one-sided narrative from Chinese propaganda, and China’s dependency on Germany is being ignored. The claim that Volkswagen sells four million cars a year in China does not stand up to scrutiny - most of them are made in China and sold in China.

It is high time for Germany to stand for the values the country upholds and holds dear. Indulging China in the past has led to its further threats made against European countries.

(Glacier Kwong, born and raised in Hong Kong, became a digital rights and political activist at the age of 15. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Law and working on the course for Hong Kong in Germany. Her work has been published on Washington Post, TIME, etc.)

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