The passage of a new national security law “threatens to undermine fundamental freedoms” in Macau, warned a European Union (EU) report, which this Saturday was described by the government of the Chinese region as defamatory and defamatory.
In a report released on Friday, the EU recalled that the revision of the national security law came into effect on May 30 in Macau, which extends the crime of secession to non-violent actions, expands the definition of sedition and can cover everyone. abroad who commit crimes against China’s national security.
“The heightened focus on national security threatens to undermine fundamental freedoms in Macau and erode the ‘one country, two systems’ principle and the high degree of autonomy of the Chinese region,” stressed the report published by the Commission. European parliament.
The integration of Macau into China, agreed with Portugal, took place in 1999 on the basis of the “one country, two systems” principle, which envisaged the preservation of the local way of life for 50 years, including individual freedoms and rights.
The EU report also said that “freedom of assembly continues to be under threat”, recalling that since 2020 authorities have banned holding a public vigil in honor of the victims of the Tiananmen massacre.
Au Kam San, a founding member of the Macau Union for the Development of Democracy, confirmed to Lusa in May that the association that organized the vigil for more than 30 years had been disbanded over fears of the new national security law.
In response, the territory’s government argued that the document “brutally defamed” the revision of the National Security Law, “discredited human rights and the rule of law in Macau and made some false comments” about the principle of “one country, two systems ‘. ‘.
In a statement, the territory’s executive “expresses strong dissatisfaction and strongly opposes” what he calls “political manipulation” which he attributes “entirely to prejudice”.
The Macau government defended that it is “undeniable basic facts” that residents “fully enjoy the broad rights and freedoms enshrined in the Basic Law,” the mini-constitution of China’s special administrative region.
The latest estimate given to Lusa by the Consulate General of Portugal in the region pointed to 170,000 Portuguese passport holders among residents of Macau and Hong Kong, and the Chinese legal regime does not recognize dual citizenship.
In another statement released last Saturday, China’s Foreign Ministry Commissioner in Macau said the EU “has no right to interfere” in the affairs of the territory because it “does not affect the internal affairs of the being China”.
In Hong Kong, there is talk of slander and defamation
The Hong Kong government also on Saturday rejected the European Union (EU) report warning that the Chinese region is suffering from “a continuing erosion” of autonomy, democratic principles and essential freedoms.
In a statement, the territory’s executive said it “strongly disagrees with and strongly rejects the baseless attacks, slander and defamation” in the document, prepared by the European Parliament and published by the European Commission on Friday.
The Hong Kong government called on the EU to “separate fact from fallacy, respect international law and basic standards of international relations, and immediately stop interfering in … China’s purely internal affairs”.
The European report finds a “continuous erosion of Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and democratic principles and essential freedoms, which must be protected by 2047”.
The document refers to the imposition, in 2020, of the National Security Law, which curtailed part of Hong Kong’s autonomy and, among other things, began criminalizing critics of the Chinese regime.
In just a year, Chinese authorities continued to arrest critics of Beijing’s government and even that region’s administration.
As of December 31, 2022, 236 people have been detained under the legislation, while another 145 people, as well as five companies, have been fined.
The Chinese region government accused the European bloc of “turning a blind eye” to the fact that “many people in Hong Kong were unable to enjoy their rights and freedoms during the period of severe violence”, referring to the pro-democracy protests in 2019.
The implementation of the national security law “quickly and effectively restored stability and security in Hong Kong” and enabled the “transition from chaos to order”, authorities defended.
Since the entry into force of the National Security Act, the conviction rate of detainees has been 100%.
The EU denounced that at least 47 activists fighting for democracy are also awaiting trial.
The Hong Kong government has guaranteed that “cases will never be treated differently because of the political beliefs or background of the persons involved”.
In addition, the region’s executive defended that China’s intervention to prohibit foreign lawyers from participating in matters related to national security “in no way undermines the independent judiciary and the power of the final judgment of the harmed Hong Kong courts”.
Along with other fundamental rights, press freedom “continued to decline in 2022,” the EU report charged, amid the arrests of journalists and the closure of independent media outlets.
Source: DN
