1.

Recommends the following to the Council, the Commission and the Vice President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy: (a) to stress with the authorities of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the PRC that in the same way that the EU’s ‘One China’ policy is the cornerstone of the EU’s engagement, fully respecting the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR and the ‘one country, two systems’ principle is of key importance for the development and further strengthening and expanding of present and future relations with the EU, and that intervening in Hong Kong's internal affairs has the potential to undermine that principle and should therefore be avoided; (b) to condemn the constant interference of the PRC in Hong Kong’s internal affairs, which may put at risk the long-term viability of the ‘one country, two systems’ model; (c) to reinforce bilateral dialogue with the Government of the Hong Kong SAR, not least through the annual EU-Hong Kong Structured Dialogue, on a wide range of topics and policy areas, such as democracy, human rights, the rule of law, trade, investment, financial services, customs, the environment, climate change, research and education, to support the implementation of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle, and to continue annual reporting by the VP/HR and the Commission to Parliament and the Council on developments in Hong Kong; (d) to acknowledge that, over time, Hong Kong evolved into an open society in which citizens enjoy human rights, freedoms, high standards of public health and safety, transparency, and have a judiciary which is trusted, and where the rule of law and low levels of corruption prevail, and that the people of Hong Kong have a legitimate right to expect to continue enjoying their way of life and these rights and values under a high degree of autonomy; (e) to emphasise that respecting Hong Kong’s autonomy is essential for its further positive development and favourable relations with the Chinese mainland, and for the resumption of the dialogues between the mainland and Taiwan; (f) to commit fully to supporting Hong Kong’s autonomy, prosperity and the rights and freedoms of its people, and to express firm support for the start of a political reform process which complies with international standards and the Basic Law, which grants the people of the SAR the right to elect and to be elected in the selection process for top leadership positions, and which reflects the majority view within Hong Kong public opinion; (g) to call, in this context, on the Governments of Hong Kong and the PRC to maintain their commitment and to build up momentum once again for the reform of universal suffrage in the future election of the Chief Executive and the members of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, in order to have an election system that is democratic, fair, open and transparent; (h) to find ways to support the consolidation of Hong Kong’s democracy and its multi-party system and to express concern at the increasing harassment of opposition political parties and the refusal of the Companies Registry to register a number of pro-democracy groups; (i) to welcome the record turnout in the last Legislative Council elections in 2016, while regretting that, in 2016, Hong Kong authorities refused to register a new pro-independence political party for the Legislative Council elections and disqualified six candidates with views promoting greater autonomy for Hong Kong; (j) to condemn threats to the personal safety of pro-democracy politicians, including abductions and physical violence, as reported by some lawmakers; (k) to welcome the release on bail of the three leaders of the pro-democracy movement Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow recently sentenced to jail for between six and eight months for ‘unlawful assembly’, after having been sentenced last year to non-custodial penalties, including community service, for their participation in peaceful protests; to urge the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal to consider the cases of Mr Wong, Mr Law and Mr Chow in accordance with Hong Kong’s obligations under international human rights law, and to urge the Hong Kong Government to revise the Public Order Ordinance to bring it in line with international human rights standards; (l) to point out to China that, even though the Basic Law, the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the ‘one country, two systems’ principle are largely respected, there are growing and widespread concerns that the agreed high degree of autonomy of Hong Kong, or the legal value, or the spirit of the Sino-British Joint Declaration have been called into question; (m) to express deep concern about the National People’s Congress Standing Committee issuing interpretations, whether unsolicited or otherwise, of the Basic Law prior to court rulings, suggesting that democratically elected legislators should be disqualified, and thus undermining trust in the full independence of the judiciary in the individual cases in question; to recall that the Hong Kong court system and normal judicial process should be the main instrument to resolve disputes; (n) to emphasise that the handling of the case of the five missing booksellers has raised regrettable questions about the autonomy of the SAR, as stated in its Basic Law, and about the lack of clarity concerning the role of mainland law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong; (o) to express concern at allegations that China’s law enforcement agencies are operating in Hong Kong, which would constitute a violation of the Basic Law and would be inconsistent with the ‘one country, two systems’ principle; (p) to underline that freedom of information and freedom of speech have generally been upheld, while expressing concern at the steady deterioration of press freedom in Hong Kong, with growing pressure on the media, both print and electronic, increasing self-censorship with regard, in particular, to covering sensitive issues on mainland China or concerning the Hong Kong Government, and the tightening of control over the sale of sensitive political books by monopolising ownership of almost all storefront bookshops; (q) to continue the bilateral dialogue with the Government of the Hong Kong SAR on a variety of policy areas as well as on the implementation of the ‘one country, two systems’ principle; (r) to reiterate that any legislation introduced under the Basic Law, including any legislation to be proposed on the basis of Article 23 of the Basic Law such as a possible National Security Bill, must not interfere with the independence and exclusive jurisdiction of the Hong Kong judiciary and should not undermine obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), nor should it undermine freedoms such as freedom of speech, media freedoms, freedom of association and assembly, freedom of demonstration, freedom to form trade unions and to strike, and freedom of academic research and cultural and artistic expression, and should not be used to target human rights activists and government critics; (s) to submit to Parliament in the near future proposals for the development of cooperation with the Hong Kong authorities in the area of tax transparency, including Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), the combating of money laundering and terrorist funding, and the implementation of the measures called for by the OECD in its base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) package; (t) to encourage and support the regionally coordinated pro-democracy movements as a key tool to foster Asian cooperation on democracy and human rights issues; (u) to urge the Hong Kong Government to take more effective measures against tax evasion and tax fraud, and to take measures to monitor and sanction firms that facilitate tax evasion and fraud through their subsidiaries in Hong Kong; (v) to find ways to support Hong Kong’s civil society, in particular organisations that uphold universal values, promote human rights and support the independence of the judiciary and press freedom; to stress that only non-violent forms of protest and dialogue can be a means to engage in disputes; (w) to recommend to the Legislative Council of Hong Kong that it carefully examine future legislation on high-speed rail in consultation with civil society organisations and the citizens of Hong Kong; (x) to encourage Hong Kong’s academic institutions to maintain the high standards of their curricula and research and to preserve academic freedoms, but to express concern, in this respect, about the procedure for the appointment of university councils and the external interferences aimed at modifying school curricula, which could undermine the independence of higher education institutions; to promote the strengthening of ties between European and Hong Kong academic institutions; (y) to call for the timely adoption of an anti-discrimination law; (z) to recall that Hong Kong’s society and its people have been heavily influenced by immigration, including refugees, and to call on the Hong Kong Government to bring its refugee and migration policy in line with international standards, particularly when it comes to unaccompanied minor refugees; (aa) to point out that, even though recent surveys show that many inhabitants of Hong Kong wish to emigrate, it would be unfortunate if Hong Kong could not keep its brightest and best, and troubling if so many, particularly young people, were to lose their faith in the future; (ab) to express concern that the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea has established in its reports that Hong Kong is one of two business jurisdictions in which the largest share of North Korean-controlled front companies have been operating; recalls that joint international ventures with North Korea are in violation of the most recent UN Security Council resolution 2388 (2017) and urges the Hong Kong authorities to address the concerns of the UN Panel of Experts on North Korea; (ac) to draw the attention of the Hong Kong authorities to the fact that, according to a study, municipal waste in Hong Kong has increased by 80 % in the past decade, which is more than double that of the population growth, and to assist them in developing an effective waste reduction policy, promoting recycling and other forms of circular economy, and raising awareness of responsible consumption; (ad) to underline to the Chinese authorities that full respect for Hong Kong’s autonomy could provide the model for a process of deep democratic political reforms in China and for the gradual liberalisation and opening up of Chinese society; (ae) to underline the EU’s commitment to strengthening democracy, including the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, fundamental freedoms and rights, transparency, and freedom of information and expression in Hong Kong;