Earlier this year, the European Parliament passed a resolution on the right to protest, considering what was happening in some parts of Europe around that time. The resolution did not single out any European country by name, and underlined duties of the police and law enforcement authorities. It argued that the right to protest and freedom of expression are not without boundaries, It cited the European Convention on Human Rights as stating that the freedom of assembly “shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on the exercise of these rights by members of the armed forces, of the police or of the administration of the state”, and that these rights could be subject to legitimate, proportionate and necessary police measures.
Since I arrived in Brussels about two years ago, I have seen various protests and demonstrations in Europe, as well as the way in which those violent protestors are dealt with by European police. We do not interfere in other countries’ internal affairs. We respect other countries’ sovereignty and the judicial independence. Still I keep wondering what European police would do if the violence in Hong Kong took place in Europe. I also wonder if the European Parliament came under attack, would those who have made wanton remarks on Hong Kong applaud violence.
The European Parliament’s resolution on the situation in Hong Kong selectively turned a deaf ear to the public call for peace, law and order in Hong Kong, and even denounced the HKSAR Government for its law-based administration. Some European politicians, though having repeatedly voiced their support for “one country, two systems”, encouraged the European Parliament to write into a resolution such wordings as the EU’s commitment to democracy in Hong Kong and “strongly condemning” the constant and increasing interference by China in Hong Kong’s internal affairs. That is apparently “double standard”, and we cannot help but ask what they are really up to. In the urgency debate on the resolution, some MEPs said that the European Parliament is not the United Nations and that Europe should better teach itself before it teaches others. Such objective voices could provide some food for thought for the European Parliament.
