The European Parliament has passed a resolution calling for the cancellation of the Hong Kong version of the so-called Chinese "national security law".
According to Voice of America, the European Parliament passed a new resolution on June 15, demanding the immediate release of Apple Daily founder Lee Chi-Ying (Jamie Lai), and the cancellation of the Hong Kong version of the so-called "national security law". The decision was widely supported in Parliament, 483 deputies supported it, nine opposed it, and 42 abstained.
According to Radio France Internationale, the resolution also called on the Council of the European Union to punish Li jiashao, the head of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and other officials involved in the crackdown on human rights activists.
Lee Chi-Ying (Jamie Lai), a British citizen, founded the Hong Kong newspaper "Apple Daily" in 1995, which has become one of the most popular newspapers in Hong Kong. But the newspaper was forcibly closed in 2021 by the Communist Chinese and Hong Kong authorities.
The Hong Kong authorities, which are completely controlled by the Chinese regime, punished the Apple Daily newspaper, which advocates democracy and criticizes the Chinese Communist Party. Li Jiang, 75, has been held in Hong Kong's highest prison since December 2020.
The EU resolution states that"the Hong Kong government should immediately and unconditionally release Li Jing, and immediately drop charges against all pro-democracy activists who support freedom of expression and fundamental human rights". The resolution also called on the Hong Kong authorities to stop obstructing the work of all journalists.
Li Jing's detention and the forced closure of Apple Daily have become symbols of the rapid deterioration of press freedom and other fundamental rights in Hong Kong since the implementation of the Hong Kong version of the so-called "national security law" of 2020. Hong Kong authorities have also arrested dozens of people on charges of breaking the law.