This year marks the 50th anniversary of EU-China relationship as well as the 28th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China. Following the imposition of the National Security Law by Beijing in June 2020, Hong Kong has been transformed from one of the freest cities in Asia into an increasingly authoritarian Chinese city where people have little freedoms of expression, association and assembly.

​

As a network of Hong Kong advocacy and community groups in Europe, the Advocacy Committee of the European Hong Kong Diaspora Alliance (EHKDA) expresses our deep concerns regarding the upcoming EU-China Human Rights Dialogue. We are convinced that the continuation of the dialogue risks compartmentalising human rights from broader EU-China relations. This approach is ineffective in improving the human rights situation in Hong Kong or mainland China.

​

After nearly four decades of regular dialogues, the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue has failed to yield substantive progress. Despite repeated EU statements expressing concern about the erosion of freedom in Hong Kong and the ongoing human rights violations in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Mainland China, there has been little evidence that the Dialogue has curbed repression, secured concessions, or improved accountability.

​

As criticised by numerous rights groups, the Dialogue has become a tool of deflection for Chinese officials to redirect rights-based critiques away from strategic economic, and political discussions. The Hong Kong experience illustrates this problem acutely. While the EU has continued to raise concerns over rights violations, the Chinese government has pressed ahead with its clampdown on civil society.

​

Based on recent developments in Hong Kong, including escalated transnational repression and deteriorating civil liberties, we call for the suspension of the dialogue and the implementation of more impactful and principle-driven measures, including the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime against Hong Kong officials responsible for repressive policies.

​

Recommendations

​

The Advocacy Committee of the European Hong Kong Diaspora Alliance urges the European Union to make the following requests to the Chinese government during the upcoming Human Rights Dialogue:

​

1. Repeal the 2020 National Security Law and the 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance;

2. Revoke the “patriot-only” election reform passed by the Standing Committee of the People’s National Congress in March 2021;

3. Release all political prisoners, including Jimmy Lai, Chow Hang-tung, and Owen Chow;

4. Remove bounties on all activists in exile, stop conducting transnational repression against overseas Hong Kongers and their family members who reside in Hong Kong;

5. Restart the process of political reform that leads to genuine democratic election, as promised in the Basic Law.

Key Developments Since June 2024

​

Political Opposition and Civil Liberties

By mid-2025, almost all prominent pro-democracy opposition figures in Hong Kong were imprisoned, in exile, or silenced. According to the Hong Kong Democracy Council, there are 1930 political prisoners as of May 2025.

​

The conclusion of the “Hong Kong 47” trial – the “politically motivated prosecution” according to the EEAS’s statement – is one of the key developments during the report period. In November 2024, the High Court handed down sentences: 45 of the activists were jailed for 4 to 10 years. Benny Tai, a well-respected former law professor at the University of Hong Kong, was sentenced for 10 years.

​

In April 2025, the Democratic Party – Hong Kong’s oldest and largest opposition party – moved toward disbanding itself. Party chairman Lo Kin-hei noted there was “no alternative but to disband” amid the crackdown. The decision came after months of warnings from Chinese officials delivered through intermediaries that the party must fold or its members could face “serious consequences”.

​

During the reporting period, Hong Kong authorities further intensified the targeting of the families and associates of exiled dissidents. In July 2023, Hong Kong national security police issued bounty warrants (HK$1 million each) for 8 overseas activists. On Christmas Eve 2024, the police issued another round of bounty on 6 activists, including former district councillor Carmen Lau and a 19-year-old student, Chloe Cheung.

​

The authorities harass not only overseas activists but also their relatives and friends: a dozen relatives and friends of overseas activists – including those linked to Carmen Lau and Tony Chung, scholar Chung Kim-wah, and US-based activist Frances Hui – were taken in for questioning by security police.

​

The Hong Kong national security apparatus escalated its translational repression through collective punishment in late April 2025, when they arrested and formally charged the 68-year-old father of US-based activist Anna Kwok. Anna’s father was accused under the homegrown national security law of “colluding with an overseas fugitive” – for allegedly handling finances for his daughter. He became the first family member of an exiled dissident to be prosecuted under the NSL regime.

​

In May 2025, the government enacted subsidiary legislation for Article 23 within 24 hours after it was introduced in the Legislative Council. The update has created six new offences and six prohibited places, further expanding mainland control over local institutions and space.

​

Press Freedom and Media

Between June 2024 and June 2025, the media environment in Hong Kong continued to deteriorate. According to Reporters Without Border’s World Press Freedom Index 2025, Hong Kong falls to 140th place, for the first time entering the red zone.

​

Media tycoon Jimmy Lai, founder of the shuttered Apple Daily, has been in custody since December 2020. In August 2024, a Hong Kong court found two editors of the now-defunct Stand News – Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam – guilty of conspiring to publish seditious materials. The landmark sedition verdict was seen by the Committee to Protect Journalists as “another nail in the coffin for Hong Kong’s press freedom.”

​

Remaining journalists faced harassment and pressure to toe the line. In September 2024, Reporters Without Border reported a coordinated intimidation campaign targeting dozens of independent journalists in an apparent effort to silence critical voices.

​

In May 2025, the Hong Kong authorities turned routine civil oversight punitive against journalists. According to the Hong Kong Journalists Association, at least eight independent media outlets and about 20 journalists and their family members have been subjected to tax audits for tax claims dating back seven years.

​

A survey by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in April 2025, underscored the climate of fear among journalists in Hong Kong. Two-thirds of journalists polled (65%) admitted to self-censorship, and one-third were considering leaving Hong Kong due to worsening press freedom. A majority said their working environment had deteriorated in the past two years, noting that sources are far less willing to speak and many international outlets have downsized or relocated.

​

Freedom of Assembly and Association

In June 2024, Hong Kong authorities effectively banned the annual Tiananmen massacre vigil for the fourth year running. On the 35th anniversary day (June 4, 2024), Victoria Park – where the massive candlelight vigils were used to host – was filled with police patrols and barricades. Four people were arrested that night for alleged offences, including “seditious intention,” under the local national security law.

​

The year of 2024 marks the fifth consecutive year of having no traditional protest events, such as the July 1st Handover march. Activists who tried creative protest, such as holding blank placards or chanting slogans alone, were met with charges. Even setting up street booths is no longer allowed for pro-democracy groups.

​

Hong Kong becomes a hub for sanctions evasion

As documented in last year's report "Beneath the harbor", Hong Kong's business environment has become a vital tool for evasions of sanctions against export of western-made electronics. By exploiting the ease with which shell companies can be established and dissolved in Hong Kong, such goods find their way to Russia and Iran with little or no impact on this illicit trade.

Thus, Hong Kong plays an essential role in the production of drones and missiles that Russia uses to terrorize civil society in Ukraine, killing large numbers of innocent civilians and destroying critical infrastructure.