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EU demands China free Hong Kong 12, journalist Zhang Zhan ahead of key trade deal

蘋果日報 2020/12/30 18:53


The European Union on Wednesday demanded that Beijing set free 12 Hongkongers caught in August, lawyers and other human rights defenders, in a call made just days before the bloc was due to ink a major investment pact with China.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen was expected to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping later in the day at a web meeting to announce the completion of Sino-E.U. investment discussions that began in 2013, Bloomberg reported.
According to the report, the agreement would open up China’s market for European investors in air transport and other sectors, while the Chinese could access renewable energy markets in Europe if they pledged to protect labor rights.
Ahead of the signing of the investment deal next week, the E.U. issued two statements on Tuesday pressing China for the release of citizen journalist Zhang Zhan, lawyers, human rights advocates in mainland China and 12 young Hongkongers arrested while trying to flee to Taiwan.
The E.U. said that the 12 Hongkongers were not permitted to appoint lawyers of their choice, and access to them in custody had been heavily restricted. The trial was not held in open court, it noted, with diplomatic representatives unable to attend the court proceedings and the attendance of relatives impeded.
“The defendants’ rights to a fair trial and due process — in accordance with international human rights law and as provided by China’s Criminal Procedure Law — have not been respected,” E.U. foreign policy spokesperson Peter Stano said.
In a separate statement, the bloc called for the release of Zhang, a citizen journalist who had reported on the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan city and was later jailed for four years in Shanghai for “picking quarrels and stirring up trouble.”
“According to credible sources, Ms Zhang has been subject to torture and ill treatment during her detention and her health condition has seriously deteriorated. It is crucial that she receives adequate medical assistance,” Stano said.
The EU also demanded the release of human rights lawyers, including Yu Wensheng, and other detained and convicted rights defenders.
Meanwhile, Bärbel Kofler, Germany’s commissioner for human rights policy, criticized China and called on the Beijing government to respect human rights and related international laws, and to release people who had been wrongly convicted.
Hu Xijin, chief editor of state-run media Global Times, said that Western countries were making use of Zhang’s case to attack China on the issues of human rights and free speech, with the aim of dividing public opinion and disrupting Chinese unity.
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