China Crackdown on Hong Kong Threatens Global Order, EU Says
- EU foreign ministers to discuss Beijing’s moves in video call
- Bloc’s foreign policy chief warns over China’s assertiveness
Riot police stop and search people in front of a Louis Vuitton luxury goods store, ahead of an anticipated protest in Hong Kong, on May 27.
Photographer: Roy Liu/BloombergChina’s efforts to tighten its grip on Hong Kong pose a threat to the rules-based international order, the European Union’s top diplomat said, calling on member states to respond with a “robust” message.
China’s increasing control over the city “affects not only our direct interests in Hong Kong but also the maintenance of the rules-based international order where legal and political commitments are to be respected,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a letter to the bloc’s 27 foreign ministers. The EU must continue “to ensure unified and robust messaging,” Borrell said in the letter dated May 26 and seen by Bloomberg.