TORONTO – The Green Party of Canada strongly condemns the recent move by Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing government to disqualify four pro-democracy legislators, prompting 15 others to resign in protest.
“This is the latest example of the ongoing erosion of civil liberties and of the ‘one nation two systems’ principle in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR),” said Green Party Leader Annamie Paul. “Autonomy was guaranteed in the original 1997 agreement between the Chinese government and the former British colony. Clearly, that is not happening. We remind the Hong Kong government of its obligation to respect the rights of its citizens and of democratically elected legislators.
“We join the Canadian government in calling on China to comply with international law by respecting the fundamental rights of free expression and assembly of Hong Kong’s citizens and governing bodies. Greens call for the immediate reinstatement of the four pro-democracy legislators. We also want to see a more consistent, coordinated and vigorous condemnation of the actions of the Chinese government as it continues to exploit the context of the COVID-19 pandemic to impose ever greater restrictions on civil liberties and fundamental rights.
“We welcome today’s announcement by Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marco Mendicino, of new measures to attract young people from Hong Kong to Canada and to help Canadian nationals living in Hong Kong to return. We must protect our fellow Canadians, while continuing to advocate on behalf of human rights defenders and for the fundamental democratic freedoms of every resident of Hong Kong.”
# # #
For more information or to arrange an interview contact:
Rosie Emery
Press Secretary
613-562-4916x206