German Bundestag urged to take action on transnational repression, sanctions evasion and political prisoners

This week, Hong Kong Watch's Policy and Advocacy Director, Megan Khoo, visited Berlin to speak at a breakfast briefing in the German Bundestag and to meet with government and parliamentary officials, a think tank, and civil society organisations. She also attended the Berlin Freedom Conference, as part of Berlin’s second annual Freedom Week. 

At the parliamentary briefing hosted by Boris Mijatović, MdB (The Greens) and Johannes Volkmann, MdB (CDU), and organised by Freiheit für Hongkong e.V. (FfHK), Mrs. Khoo joined a panel alongside Samuel Bickett and Ray Wong. Mrs. Khoo provided context for the deteriorating human rights environment in Hong Kong, including in schools and universities, and the plight of the city’s political prisoners. The panel also addressed Hong Kong’s role in evading international sanctions, with its exports to Russia having nearly doubled since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the transnational repression facing the Hong Kong diaspora in Germany, including surveillance, cyberattacks, and the targeting of family members as leverage.

While closing the panel and in meetings, Mrs. Khoo put forth the following policy recommendations to the Bundestag and German government: 

1. Treat transnational repression (TNR) as a serious threat by reviewing the special privileges of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Berlin and equipping local authorities with the capabilities they need to best support those facing TNR.

2. Impose targeted human rights sanctions against Hong Kong and People’s Republic of China (PRC) officials responsible for the ongoing eradication of basic civil liberties in Hong Kong.

3. Urge Hong Kong and PRC counterparts to immediately and unconditionally release Jimmy Lai, Joshua Wong, Chow Hang-tung, and all Hong Kong political prisoners. 

Hong Kong Watch looks forward to continuing to engage with those in Berlin to defend the fundamental freedoms of Hong Kong and of Hong Kongers in exile.

香港監察到訪柏林 促德國政府對抗跨國鎮壓、打擊規避制裁和支援政治犯

本週，香港監察政策及倡議總監Megan Khoo到訪柏林，在德國聯邦議院舉行的國會早餐會上發言，並會見了政府官員、議會議員、智庫以及民間社會組織代表。她亦出席了第二屆柏林自由週的活動「柏林自由大會」（Berlin Freedom Conference）。

早餐會由德國國會議員Boris Mijatović MdB和Johannes Volkmann MdB主持，由Freiheit für Hongkong e.V.舉行，講者包括Megan Khoo、Samuel Bickett和黃台仰。Megan闡述了香港日益惡化的人權環境，包括中小學和大學的狀況，以及香港政治犯的困境。講者亦討論了香港在規避國際制裁所扮演的角色。自俄羅斯全面入侵烏克蘭以來，香港對俄羅斯的出口額增加了近乎一倍。與會者也探討了在德港人面對的跨國鎮壓，包括監視、網絡攻擊以及針對家人進行打壓。

在早餐會尾聲和後續會議中，Megan向德國聯邦議院和德國政府提出了以下政策建議：

1. 視跨國鎮壓為嚴重威脅，審查香港駐柏林經濟貿易辦事處的特權，並支援地方當局應對跨國鎮壓。

2. 向持續剝奪香港基本公民自由的香港和中國官員實施針對性人權制裁。

3. 敦促香港和中國當局立即無條件釋放黎智英、黃之鋒、鄒幸彤等所有香港政治犯。

香港監察期待繼續與德國官員合作，捍衛香港及流亡港人的基本自由。