The local and central governments have responded forcefully to the annual report on political and economic developments in macao made by the European Commission and the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
The report alleged that Macao’s “continuously increasing focus on national security” risked “weakening fundamental freedoms” and eroding “Macao’s usually high degree of autonomy.”
It added that “freedom of the press remained under strain” and “freedom of assembly continued to suffer.”
In response, the Macao government said the EU’s report was factually incorrect. “Macao’s affairs are China’s internal affairs, therefore the European Union has no right to interfere,” a government statement read. “The publication of the aforementioned annual report lacks a legitimate basis in international law.”
[See more: Macao slams US criticism of the city’s national security legislation]
Meanwhile , the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was “strongly dissatisfied” with the report for making “irresponsible remarks” and interfering in “China’s internal affairs.”
Washington and its European allies frequently criticise their geopolitical rivals on rights grounds while practising rights violations within their own jurisdictions.
Amnesty International’s 2023 report faulted multiple EU member states for maintaining “deadly policies of racialized exclusion and externalisation” toward refugees and “disregarding human rights.”
It added that many European states “reported high figures for gender-based violence against women and girls against a backdrop of inadequate state actions to tackle it,” while “attacks against journalists were recorded in countries across the region” and accused several EU states of enacting “disproportionate restrictions on assemblies.”
