European Parliament calls for sanctions on Hong Kong officials over arbitrary detentions and crackdown on fundamental freedoms
Today, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging the European Council to urgently impose sanctions, under the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, on Hong Kong officials responsible for the ongoing repression of civil liberties in Hong Kong.
MEPs strongly condemned the enforcement of the 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law and the 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, calling for their repeal. According to Parliament, more than 400 people have been arrested and over 180 convicted under these laws since the beginning of June 2026, contributing to what MEPs describe as the systematic dismantling of freedom of expression, media freedom, and freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
The resolution specifically denounces the June 2026 arrest of bookseller Leticia Wong, the sentencing of activists Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung and Albert Ho, and the 20-year prison sentence handed to 78-year-old British citizen Jimmy Lai. MEPs called for all charges against these individuals to be dropped and for the release of all political prisoners in Hong Kong, insisting that human rights, media freedom and the rule of law must be central to EU-China relations.
The resolution was adopted with 459 votes in favour, 12 against and 86 abstentions.
Megan Khoo, Policy Director of Hong Kong Watch, commented:
“This resolution sends an unambiguous message: the international community will not look away as Hong Kong’s national security laws continue to be used to silence journalists, booksellers, and pro-democracy activists. The arrest of Leticia Wong and the sentencing of Chow Hang-tung are not isolated incidents. They are part of a systematic campaign to erase the freedoms Hong Kong was promised. The EU must now follow through with real sanctions, not just words.”
歐洲議會通過決議呼籲制裁港官 指任意拘留港人、打壓基本自由
歐洲議會今天通過決議，促請歐盟理事會根據歐盟全球人權制裁機制（EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime），緊急對持續打壓香港公民自由的香港官員施行制裁。
歐洲議會議員強烈譴責香港當局推行2020年《國家安全法》和2024年《維護國家安全條例》，呼籲廢除法例。歐洲議會稱，自2026年6月初以來，已有超過400人被依據這兩項法例拘捕，超過180人被定罪，導致歐洲議會議員所形容的言論自由、新聞自由，以及和平集會和結社自由被系統式摧毀。
決議特別譴責2026年6月書店店長黃文萱被拘捕、民運人士李卓人、鄒幸彤和何俊仁被判刑，以及現年78歲的英國公民黎智英被判處20年監禁。歐洲議會議員呼籲撤銷所有對上述人士的控罪，並釋放所有香港政治犯，議員強調人權、新聞自由和法治必須是歐中關係的核心所在。
決議以459票贊成、12票反對、86票棄權獲得通過。
香港監察政策總監Megan Khoo表示：
「這項決議傳遞明確信息：香港當局持續利用國安法例壓制記者、書商和民運人士，而國際社會不會視而不見。黃文萱被拘捕和鄒幸彤被判刑不是個別事件，而是旨在抹殺香港所獲承諾自由的系統式行動一部分。歐盟必須立即坐言起行，切實施行制裁，而非流於空談。」
Photo: Jonas Horsch on Pexels