European Parliament’s non-binding ruling condemned

So, the European Parliament has decreed that convicted felon Jimmy Lai should be set free to roam the streets of Hong Kong as if nothing happened. Their decree totally disregards a 855-page conviction reading in a court, with a higher ranking than the US, against Lai who now awaits sentencing.

Of course, the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities have condemned the ruling. The Hong Kong government and China’s Foreign Ministry strongly opposed the resolution, calling it an "interference in internal affairs" and a "misinterpretation" of Hong Kong’s legal system. They emphasized that the judiciary operates independently and that Lai’s trial was based on factual evidence. The officials stated that the resolution was politically motivated and did not conform to international law.

The Europeans are under the false impression that Lai was prosecuted for “freedom of expression and democracy in Hong Kong”, a fallacy carefully orchestrated by a multi-million-dollar publicity campaign.

The people of Hong Kong are fed up with the Jimmy Lai case so-much-so that the Legislative Council took the unusual step by issuing a statement that all members fully support the statements issued by the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong and the HKSAR Government, and firmly believe that the HKSAR Government will resolutely implement the national security laws, while protecting the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents under the “one country, two systems” principle.

What was telling during the debate was that the swaying arguments were presented by Lai’s dutiful son Sebastien and his public relations-cum-legal advisor Caoilfhionn Gallagher, KC. There was no input from the Hong Kong side, which presumably, did not recognise the debate. It was, after all a non-binding resolution and served merely for its publicity value.

Gallagher and her team including another KC, Jonathan Price, are fully aware of the law and know very well that they have crossed the red line by undermining Hong Kong’s legal system. Gallagher continually calls it a “sham or show” trial with full knowledge that the city’s judiciary ranks among the highest in the world. (The World Justice Project released the Rule of Law Index 2025 and Hong Kong's ranking in the Index continues to be 6th in East Asia and the Pacific, and 24th out of 143 countries and jurisdictions globally, two points above the US). It is generally a no-no for the legal profession to criticize the judiciary.

The parliamentary session in Strasbourg, France called for European Union members to suspend extradition treaties with mainland China and Hong Kong, in addition to calling for the European Commission to initiate the suspension of the city's status under the World Trade Organization (WTO). Hong Kong has been a member of the WTO in its own right since its founding in 1995 and will continue to do so. There is no way in which the WTO will suspend Hong Kong’s membership. The resolution is a tall order that means nothing. Of the 720-strong parliament, 503 voted in favour of the resolution, nine against and 100 abstentions.

It was obvious that none of those who voted in favour of the resolution had read the conviction notes of three High Court judges who found Lai guilty of sedition-related charges. If they had, they would have voted against the resolution.

However, publicity was minimal and it is understood it received no traction what-so-ever within Europe. The press releases were issued by Gallagher’s law firm of Doughty Street Chambers in London and reached only a handful of papers in the UK and the wire services to reach Hong Kong.

The resolution on ‘The conviction and imminent sentencing of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong’ is the fourth time that the European Parliament has formally raised the Jimmy Lai detention at the behest of Gallagher and her team. And each time it gets nowhere as the parliament itself has no teeth, except for being a public relations vehicle.

Mark Pinkstone

** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **

The move by the Central Government to reprimand the US Consul General in Hong Kong over her interpretation of a recent amendment to National Security Law (NSL) is necessary to correct a misconception that the city is not a safe place to travel.

Last month, Hong Kong’s legislature passed laws empowering the police to demand suspects of a crime to reveal the passwords to their mobile phones and other electronic devices.

But the newly appointed US Consul General Hong Kong Julie Eadeh went a step further and issued a travel advisory warning all Americans that they could be arrested if they failed to release their passwords. She insinuated that Hong Kong is a police state. It is not! In fact, it is one of the safest places in the world to travel.

A government spokesman was quick to respond to erroneous press reports after the legislative motion that under normal circumstances, police officers must have reasonable grounds to suspect that an electronic equipment may contain evidence of an offence endangering national security, and they must apply for a warrant and obtain authorisation from a magistrate before they can search the electronic equipment to obtain relevant criminal evidence in accordance with the warrant. 

Only after being legally authorised to search the equipment can the police require a suspect to provide the password or decryption method of the equipment. Therefore, it is not until legal authorisation to search an electronic equipment has been obtained can the police really require a suspect to provide the password or decryption method of the electronic equipment. 

The spokesman added that there is no case that the police can randomly ask ordinary citizens on the street for their electronic devices (such as their mobile phones) and their password. 

The Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection agency, which placed Hong Kong 10th as one of the world’s safest places to travel last year, advised travellers to read the US State Department’s travel advisories which currently advises travellers to exercise caution in Hong Kong due to the “arbitrary enforcement of local laws and ongoing restrictions on civil liberties” following the enactment of the National Security Law and the 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. US citizens are also encouraged to avoid demonstrations, protests and large gathering, as “even peaceful events can escalate and lead to legal consequences.” 

The commissioner of China’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong, Cui Jianchun, gave Eadeh a slap over the wrist and expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition, urging the US to immediately cease interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs in any form. 

Of the 70-consular corps in Hong Kong, the US was the only one to purposely misinterpret the amendment to the NSL. It is in the DNA of the US. All other foreign diplomats know exactly what it means because the same proviso applies to their own countries.

Eadeh is a career diplomat having served in Ankara, Doha, Bagdad, Shanghai, Riyadh and Beirut. In Hong Kong she was the consulate’s political director under Gregory May, who has been promoted to US Deputy Chief of Mission in Beijing.

Unlike other consulates in Hong Kong which answer to their embassies in Beijing, the US Consulate General in Hong Kong answers directly to the US State Department run by China hawk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has been quiet on China issues recently due to his distraction in the Middle East.

The US is not in a position to criticise Hong Kong at the moment as it has lost all credibility as a sovereign state. It is a broken country, ostracized by the world’s powers as they scramble to mend the fences dismantled by President Trump and his cronies.

Commissioner Cui will be keeping a watchful eye on Eadeh as she steps her way through Hong Kong, its flooring still holding the shards of broken glass from the 2019-20 riots in which she was complicit. Cui will continue to reprimand her for every indiscretion she makes.