on monday a committee of the german
parliament the bundestag
heard a petition calling for sanctions
against chinese officials for violating
human rights
glacier quang a digital rights activist
from hong kong now studying in berlin
was one of the initiators of the
petition that also calls on germany to
sue china
in the international court of justice
for its actions in hong kong
dw correspondent thomas sparrow was at
the bundestag
as glacier quang arrived for the hearing
today is a big day for activist glacier
quang in berlin
in a few hours german mps will be
discussing a petition she started
which has been signed by over 50 000
people
how are you feeling about today gracie
are you nervous yes i'm very nervous
because it will be the first time i'm
speaking in front of planetary members
and it will be about hong kong that's
what i'm very nervous about today
kwang wants germany to do more against
human rights violations in hong kong
what exactly are you calling for what
are the actions that you're expecting
we are calling for individual sanctions
against human rights violations that
happened in hong kong and china
we are also asking for a live vote
scheme for hong kongers that are in need
and we are also asking the government to
call off the investment deal with china
because that will damage
germany's commitment to values quang
says the german government's reaction
has been weak
berlin has criticized china's policies
but the activist wants more
inside parliament kwong gives a short
speech and discusses the crisis with mps
the current situation in hong kong is
dramatic and it's getting worse day by
day
basic freedoms rule of law human rights
are being deliberately and
systematically
destroyed by beijing
the passing of the national security law
has unfortunately
confirmed all the fears that existed
even the so-called loyal opposition
is now under attack one cannot help
feeling that beijing does not want any
opposition in hong kong
in hong kong a foreign ministry official
is also there and defends the
government's
adult reaction following the
franco-german initiative
member states that have extradition
treaties with hong kong including us
have suspended these extradition
treaties
we meet glacier quang again when the
hearing is over
so no decision was expected today
glacier but how did it go
i think the hearing generally went well
went well i made all my points that i
wanted to make at the first place and
the volunteering members
did most of them did express support
towards hong kong but the government
still gave very very official answers
without
promising concrete action kwong is aware
that many of her demands may not be met
but she says
all change begins with recognition and
discussion
and the definitive action on that
petition is still awaited but let's get
more on germany's position on china
from reinhard beauticoffer he's been a
german politician and is chairman
of the european parliament's delegation
for relations with
china welcome mr bitcher is it time for
germany
to impose sanctions on chinese officials
for their actions in hong kong
well it is time for the eu
to uh take joint action
uh and of course germany as one of the
uh
more powerful capitals within the eu
has to play a very proactive
role in that regard and
that's why i'm happy that
these issues are not just being raised
by us in the european parliament where
we have
demanded several times that such
sanctions should be taken but that it's
also
raised from the public through
for instance uh petitions so these
issues that have definitely already been
raised but to go back to the point that
you made
about germany being more proactive why
do you think germany
hasn't been so proactive thus far
well it would certainly be unfair to say
that germany hasn't done anything
uh germany has for instance suspended
its uh extradition agreement with hong
kong
and uh the german foreign minister has
also
made several public statements but
um germany just like other european
countries
has been reluctant to really move
forward
and to take um more
uh more forceful steps and obviously
whatever we've done so far has not
really impressed the hong kong
authorities no has
it impressed beijing and if we want to
make them understand
that what they're doing that the uh
oppression that they are pursuing in
hong kong
comes with a price then obviously we
have to do more
and i think we have to do more on two
fronts we need
to um uh implement sanctions
we now have the eu's global human rights
sanctions mechanism
and it should be invoked uh vis-a-vis a
couple of figures
in hong kong including carrie lam and on
the other hand
the eu should also and germany in
particular should also
work diligently towards raising this
issue in
international forum and for instance
creating
a contact group with for hong kong with
other like-minded countries to pay
attention
and to let not let that topic not vanish
from the international agenda
you talk about more action from the eu
and from germany but then
in december you have the eu that agreed
on an
investment deal with china a deal that
germany
had been strongly backing i'm wondering
what is the message
that this sends to the chinese
government
well unfortunately um that's not
the message that that i would have want
to see
um after a terrible year
with um
very uh aggressive policies
not just in hong kong also in xinjiang
also vis-a-vis australia also in the
south china sea also
on the himalayan border with uh
india for instance after such a terrible
year
of uh chinese aggressiveness we
basically put a christmas present under
xi jinping's christmas tree
uh the timing couldn't have been more
unfortunate
and um i i would i regret
having to say that that my government in
this case the german government
um uh emphasized
trade over uh geopolitical concerns and
over human rights
and i think that's uh a a
priority that's a sequence of priorities
right we should have moved on we leave
it there for the time being but thank
you so much for joining
us reinhard putico for chairman of the
european parliament's delegation for
relations with china thank you sir
and in hong kong itself the new national
security law has already had an impact
on free speech my colleague sarah kelly
spoke with the former hong kong
legislator
michael tien he's a pro-beijing
politician and he admitted to her
that the new law had had a chilling
effect on political debate
you have sometimes spoken out against
the government do you personally
have to watch what you say how worried
are you
my honest opinion and feedback
is that yes there's been a tightening
of freedom to express views
particularly when it comes to hong kong
uh gaining some kind of a greater
control
over its own destiny all right about
a civic nomination that anybody can
nominate to run for a chief executive
and it goes against the basic law
so all i'm saying is that if anybody
comes
up with any kind of claim that goes
against the basic law
yes the freedom to express such views
is much less today than before because
of the national security bill
and you can see that full interview on
conflict zone here on dw at 1930
utc or online at dw.com forward slash
conflict zone
now hong kong politicians who openly
oppose beijing
have been targeted in mass arrests not
only do they face disqualification
from upcoming elections but possibly
life imprisonment
our elections now meaningless dw's
phoebe kong
talked to one of those arrested every
day when cyrus lau returns from his job
as a nurse
he recalls the shocking moment of his
first arrest
it was 5 am in the morning i was
sleeping and suddenly a group of people
banged on the door
six police officers were here to arrest
me i was very shocked that they knew
where i live
they must have been following me for
quite a while
the 36 year old nurse has been living in
a hotel for months
to avoid bringing the coronavirus home
from the hospital
cyrus law was among the 55 hong kong
politicians
arrested for subversion by running in an
unofficial primary last july
the authorities claimed they sought to
paralyze the government
by vetoing its budget and bills
police seized many of his campaign
materials
posters and nebulas are now seen as
potential criminal evidence
it's like a double whammy my work during
the pandemic has already been intense
and overwhelming
now i can't even let my guard down when
i'm off duty
this arrest is absurd the constitution
gives lawmakers the power to scrutinize
and veto the government's proposals
the authorities are rounding up
dissidents
as protests were deterred under
beijing's new law and pandemic
restrictions
that primary was the biggest movement in
recent months
over 600 000 people voted to pick the
opposition candidates
for the now postponed legislative
election it's still unclear whether the
government will call an election this
year
the mass arrests have effectively
silenced many of the most outspoken
and influential political factors in
town although they haven't been
prosecuted
many are now staying low profile
distancing themselves from interview
and public appearance cyrus lao and
other leaders currently unveil
are not allowed to leave hong kong they
think the opposition movement will
evolve
into a leaderless one just as the
protested
we cannot only count on leaders or
parties anymore
i believe hong kong people are smart and
adaptive enough to come up with a new
form of activism
it's not likely to go as public as
before
but people will keep their strength for
the next opportunity
but that doesn't mean that he would just
sit still and do nothing
right now he is working as an advocate
for his nursing union
as long as he is due free to do so