• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Republica Press

Your Business & Political News Source

REPUBLICA PRESS
Your Business & Political News Source

  • Home
  • BUSINESS
  • MONEY
  • POLITICS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • SCIENCE/TECH
  • US
  • WORLD

E.U. Lawmaker Block Investment Pact With China

by

The European Parliament halted progress Thursday on a landmark commercial agreement with China, citing the “totalitarian threat” from Beijing because of its record on human rights and its sanctions against Europeans who have been critical of the Chinese government.

By an overwhelming majority, members of Parliament passed a resolution refusing to ratify the so-called Comprehensive Agreement on Investment until China lifts sanctions on prominent European critics of Beijing. The members of Parliament also warned that they could refuse to endorse the agreement because of China’s treatment of Muslim minorities and its suppression of democracy in Hong Kong.

“The human rights situation in China is at its worst since the Tiananmen Square massacre,” the resolution said, accusing China of detaining more than one million people, mostly Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang province, a charge the Chinese government has denied.

The sanctions against members of the European Parliament who have been critical of Beijing, as well as several scholars and research organizations, “constitute an attack against the European Union and its Parliament as a whole, the heart of European democracy and values, as well as an attack against freedom of research,” the resolution said.

sanctions against four Communist Party officials after accusing them of being responsible for human rights violations.

China retaliated with sanctions against members of the European Parliament, including Reinhard Bütikofer, a member of the Greens faction from Germany and prominent critic of Beijing. They are not allowed to travel to China or do business with people in China.

The investment agreement was already in trouble. Valdis Dombrovskis, the European commissioner for trade, said earlier in May that work to finalize the pact was delayed because of repressive Chinese policies. The European Commission, the European Union’s administrative arm, also took steps this month to clamp down on Chinese companies that receive subsidies from the government, giving them an unfair competitive edge.

The resolution passed Thursday by a vote of 599 in favor and 30 against, with 58 abstentions. The no votes came from a handful of far-right or far-left members of Parliament.

View Source

Filed Under: BUSINESS Tagged With: Arm, Business, China, Embargoes and Sanctions, European Commission, European Parliament, European Union, Germany, Government, Hong Kong, Human rights, Human Rights and Human Rights Violations, Merkel, Angela, Minorities, Research, trade, travel, Xinjiang

Primary Sidebar

More to See

Southern Baptists to Release List of Ministers Accused of Sexual Abuse

Leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention announced Tuesday that they were preparing to release a secretly maintained list of hundreds of ministers … [Read More...] about Southern Baptists to Release List of Ministers Accused of Sexual Abuse

You May Be Ready for Summer, but Is Your Home?

The change of seasons offers an opportunity to make changes of your own — not just in the way you dress, but in the way you dress the rooms you live … [Read More...] about You May Be Ready for Summer, but Is Your Home?

Stained Glass in a $1.5M Converted Church in St. Louis Is Simply Divine

It’s a property that offers a unique open floor plan—plus a hot tub with a view.“It was a Methodist church located in a historic little area of St. … [Read More...] about Stained Glass in a $1.5M Converted Church in St. Louis Is Simply Divine

Copyright © 2022 · Republica Press · Log in · As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy