Statement by Nordic parliamentarians of Liberal International: Support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement

Statement by Nordic parliamentarians of Liberal International: Support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement

Months have passed since protests against the extradition law in Hong Kong started and Liberal International issued its first statement on the situation.

Chinese authorities have since warned the people of Hong Kong that continuing the protests can put “Hong Kong in a very difficult situation” and described the protests as “terrorism”. We are disappointed that time has not led to a peaceful political solution which safeguards the liberties of the people of Hong Kong and the one country, two systems principle.

Rumours indicate the Chinese government’s willingness to deploy PLA troops to quell the protests. The recent new rotation of troops to the PLA’s Hong Kong garrison is another indication of this willingness. It is not clear whether or not this is a serious consideration by the authorities in Beijing, but using military force to put down peaceful protests would greatly tarnish the image of the People’s Republic of China. A return to Tiananmen Square will not stand in 2019.

As members of Liberal International, we reiterate our call for the violence to end and for political solutions where the civil liberties of the people of Hong Kong are protected. We have seen excessive use of force against demonstrators by police and criminal groups increase as the weeks pass and we do not see any cognisance of how detrimental this is to the future political climate in Hong Kong.

As elected members of national legislative assemblies, we strongly support the democratic aspirations of the people of Hong Kong. At the same time we support the principle of one country, two systems, and appeal to the Chinese authorities to live up to the obligations enshrined in this agreement. We believe the key to a solution lies in an immediate end to violence and dialogue between the protesters and the government of Hong Kong. The outcome of such talks must strengthen democratic safeguards and give the people of Hong Kong renewed faith in the integrity of their public institutions.

Nordic Liberal Members of Parliament:

Guri Melby MP, Venstre, Norway
Kerstin Lundgren MP, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Centerpartiet, Sweden
Eva Biaudet MP, Svenska Folkpartiet, Finland
Zenia Stampe MP, Human Rights Spokesperson, Radikale Venstre, Denmark

With the added support of:

Astrid Thors, Vice President and Human Rights Chairperson, Liberal International, Finland
Prof. Lord Alderdice, John, President of Honour, Liberal International, United Kingdom
Bi-khim Hsiao MP, Chairperson, Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats, Taiwan
Juliana Nikolova MP, Liberal Democratic Party, Macedonia
Philip Bennion MEP, Liberal Democrats/ Renew Europe, United Kingdom/Europe
Antony Hook MEP, Liberal Democrats/ Renew Europe, United Kingdom/Europe
Emily Lau, Chairperson, Democratic Party of Hong Kong International Affairs Committee, Hong Kong
Khatuna Samnidze, Chairperson, Republican Party of Georgia, Georgia
Rose Sakala, Vice President Southern African, Africa Liberal Network, Kenya
Berhan Nazimov, LI human rights committee member, Bulgaria
Åsa Nilsson Söderström, LI human rights committee member, Sweden

Photo by @Doctorho on Flickr