Hong Kong government condemns ’inaccurate’ European Parliament recommendations and urges end to interference
Government says national security laws will be implemented fully and accurately and judicial independence safeguarded; no direct impact on mortgages, interest rates, jobs or Hong Kong stocks seen so far
The Hong Kong government on Friday night (October 9) issued a statement expressing firm opposition and strong dissatisfaction with, and condemning, references to Hong Kong in a European Parliament report on EU-China political relations. It described the contents as "biased and inaccurate smears" and urged the European Parliament to stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs.
The document in question was the European Parliament's policy recommendation, adopted on October 7 and addressed to other EU institutions, titled "Recommendation on EU-China political relations". The government statement concerned implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance and judicial independence, rather than prices, interest rates or market measures. The public documents checked so far contain no specific trade or economic arrangements targeting Hong Kong; the full text of the provisions concerning Hong Kong in the recommendation has not yet been verified 【To be verified: Hong Kong-related paragraphs in European Parliament adopted text T10-0334/2026】.
A government spokesman stressed that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China, enjoys a high degree of autonomy under "one country, two systems", and comes directly under the Central People's Government. The SAR government will fully and accurately implement the relevant national security laws, prevent, suppress and punish acts and activities endangering national security, while safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of members of the public and others in accordance with the law.
The spokesman said that in the more than six years since the Hong Kong National Security Law came into force, daily life and economic activity had quickly returned to normal, while the business environment had continued to improve. The statement cited a number of rankings: Hong Kong remained the world's freest economy, rose to first globally in cross-border wealth management, ranked second in global competitiveness, remained among the top three international financial centres, and ranked first globally in funds raised through initial public offerings in 2025. Hong Kong also maintained a high overall position in the 2025 Rule of Law Index — identified in the English release as the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index — ranking ahead of Western countries that had from time to time criticised Hong Kong's rule of law and human rights record. The rankings were all cited by the government, and the statement did not identify the organisations that published them 【To be verified: original sources】.
The spokesman also said that enacting laws to safeguard national security was an inherent right of sovereign states under international law and an international norm. The government would continue to uphold an independent judiciary, support the judicial institutions in exercising their judicial power independently in accordance with the law, and safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests. A Legislative Council spokesman also issued a statement opposing the recommendation earlier on the same day.
On January 22 this year, the European Parliament passed a resolution concerning the case of Jimmy Lai by 503 votes in favour, nine against and 100 abstentions. The Hong Kong government also issued a statement opposing it on that day.
As for the local impact, the government gazettes and European Parliament procedural documents checked so far contain no indication that the recommendation or the government statement would have a direct impact on mortgage repayments, HIBOR, electricity charges, employment or Hong Kong stocks. This article makes no speculation 【To be verified: whether the EU and its member states will follow up with measures concerning Hong Kong in response to the recommendation】.
Looking ahead, a reproduced version of a European Parliament press release said that the fourth visit to China by a parliamentary delegation was expected to take place later in October. No timetable has so far been announced for any further response by the Hong Kong government or EU institutions to the Hong Kong-related provisions of the recommendation.