Hong Kong has rejected an “unfounded and biased” European Commission report, which said the rule of law in the city remained under “severe strain” in 2024 due to the implementation of national security legislation.
In its 2024 annual report on Hong Kong, published on Monday, the European Commission, the European Union’s (EU) main executive body, noted that last year was marked by the city’s enactment of its homegrown national security law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, also known as Article 23.
It also raised concerns about the outcomes of landmark court cases under a separate security law imposed by Beijing in 2020, as well as Hong Kong’s extraterritorial application of its security laws.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Hong Kong government said it “strongly disapproved of and rejected the unfounded and biased content” in the report.
The government “will resolutely, fully and faithfully” implement both security laws and “strongly urges the EU to respect facts, abide by the international law and basic norms governing international relations that it claims to uphold,” and to “immediately stop” interfering in the city’s affairs.
The government also rejected claims that Hong Kong had become “totalitarian,” referring to a remark made by former Court of Final Appeal judge Jonathan Sumption, which was cited in the EU report. Days after quitting the city’s top court in June last year, Sumption called the guilty verdicts against 45 democrats, delivered the previous month, “legally indefensible.”
In a landmark national security case, 45 democrats were convicted of subversion in May 2024 and jailed in November. A verdict in media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s national security trial is expected in late 2025, before the trial of a Tiananmen crackdown vigil organiser commences.
The report mentioned a “continued focus” in integrating national security into the territory’s governance, saying that “on matters considered relevant to national security, the rule of law in Hong Kong remained under severe strain in 2024.”
The Hong Kong government rejected this view, saying: “The EU exposed their double standards as they pointed fingers at Hong Kong’s legal system and enforcement mechanisms to safeguard national security.”
‘Shrinking space’ for opposition
The European Commission’s report also took note of the “shrinking space” for political opposition, referring to threatening phone calls and emails received by members of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party.
The pro-democracy party, long seen as a moderate opposition in the city, announced in February that it was taking steps to disband. Depending on the result of a disbandment vote expected this December, Hong Kong may be left with no active opposition groups.
The pro-democracy left-wing League of Social Democrats decided to dissolve in late June.
Press freedom further deteriorated, the report said, noting the jailing of the now-disbanded media outlet Stand News’ editors. It also pointed to simultaneous tax audits faced by the Hong Kong Journalists Association and independent media outlets, including Hong Kong Free Press, as well as coordinated harassment campaigns against the press.
However, the Hong Kong government maintained that press freedom was protected under its mini-constitution, the Basic Law, and touted a “vibrant” media landscape. Freedoms of speech, of the press, of publication, of association, of assembly, and of protest are all subject to limitation and are not absolute, it said in the statement.
