中國霸凌行為逾越歐盟的價值底線
歐洲議會議員強力支持立陶宛與台灣發展關係

來自歐洲議會 #5大主流黨團、 #20個會員國 共 #62位重量級歐洲議會議員 公開聯名致函，這封信對象是立陶宛總統、總理及國會議長，同時副本歐盟高層，針對中國近來的威脅、恐嚇與霸凌(太離譜了 真的太離譜了)，展現與立陶宛團結一致的支持，並強調台灣在國際社會中扮演至關重要的角色，所有歐洲聯盟會員國均有權利與台灣深化經濟、文化與外交關係。

此外，歐洲議會副議長 #卡斯塔多 也表示支持立陶宛與台灣深化關係的決定，他也是歐洲議會最近通過挺台報告的一大推手呦～～

卡斯塔多在臉書表示，針對歐盟強化對台關係， #歐洲是時候該大力支持了 ，他最近接受義大利媒體「宣言報」訪問表示，台灣與歐盟共享多元 #民主 #自由 及 #尊重法治 精神，而違反人權及具侵略性的外交政策，歐盟都不能坐視不管保持沉默。

外交部誠摯感謝歐洲盟友持續用具體行動立挺台灣及立陶宛，未來台灣將持續與立陶宛及歐盟等理念相近夥伴保持密切交流，鞏固全球民主陣營力量！

62 cross-party MEPs signed an open letter to #Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda, Speaker of the Seimas Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen and Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė expressing their support for the people of Lithuania amid the threats, intimidation and bullying behaviour they’ve suffered at the hands of the PRC.

The letter, which was also forwarded to the leadership of the #EuropeanUnion, condemned the pattern of using “de-facto trade sanctions” against countries in an attempt to coerce them into geopolitical acquiescence. The letter called for the EU to reiterate the right of all its member states to conduct their economic, cultural and diplomatic relations with #Taiwan as they see fit, adding that Taiwan has a vital role to play in the international community.

This comes as European Parliament Vice President Fabio Massimo Castaldo took to Facebook to say it was time for Europe to strongly support bolstering relations with Taiwan, following an interview with Italian daily il manifesto in which he condemned human rights abuses in China and emphasized Taiwan as an important partner in the Indo-Pacific region.

Taiwan strives to be a force for stability and good in the international community and we’ll continue to safeguard our values of #democracy, #freedom and respect for #HumanRights and #RuleOfLaw, shoulder to shoulder with our #LikeMinded partners in Lithuania and the #EU.

//https://www.wsj.com/articles/honoring-jimmy-lai-11624248153

OPINION REVIEW & OUTLOOK
Honoring Jimmy Lai
In Hong Kong, a valiant attempt to keep publishing the truth.
By The Editorial Board
June 21, 2021 12:02 am ET

The Committee to Protect Journalists was founded 40 years ago to fight for journalists who are “attacked, imprisoned or killed.” In this spirit, the CPJ on Monday announced it is honoring Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai with its 2021 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award. Mr. Lai, the founder, owner and contributor to the Apple Daily newspaper, won’t be able to accept the award in person because he sits in prison in Hong Kong.

The CPJ honor comes after another police raid on the newsroom last week. Five Apple Daily execs were arrested, and two—editor-in-chief Ryan Law and chief executive officer Cheung Kim-hung —were charged under the new national security law and thus denied bail. The CPJ notes that Mr. Lai “fights for the right of his Apple News organization to publish freely, even as China and its backers in Hong Kong use every tool to quash them.”

The grim news is that those who want Apple silenced may be succeeding. We have learned that Apple may be only days away from stopping its presses. This itself is a lesson in freedom. Instead of directly censoring the publication, Hong Kong authorities, backed by China, have targeted the lifeblood of any news organization, its business operations.

The lesson of Apple is that freedom of the press doesn’t exist in the abstract. It depends on property rights. By freezing Apple’s corporate accounts, by stopping Mr. Lai from voting his shares (he holds 72% of the company), and by scaring people from advertising in Apple or doing business with it, Hong Kong has been trying to deny the paper the wherewithal to continue. Lenin understood this more than a century ago, recommending that Communists control newsprint and advertising to bring the press to heel.

There’s a warning here for other Hong Kong business enterprises that may not think they have a stake in what happens to Mr. Lai or Apple. Hong Kong authorities are stealing Mr. Lai’s company because they don’t like his political views—and they have done it by police orders, without due process or judicial review. If they can do it to his company, does anyone really believe they won’t do it to a bank or tech company that offends China?

The men and women at Apple have been making a valiant stand to keep publishing despite the risk of arrest and imprisonment. They are an example of real journalistic courage that should educate an American media that likes to play up its bravery in challenging the government while living under the protection of the First Amendment and a free society. Mr. Lai and his journalists have put their freedom at risk to challenge a real tyranny.

The CPJ award is richly deserved, and it should put a global spotlight on what is happening to Mr. Lai and Apple. As China’s Communist Party seeks to expand its political control over critics world-wide, often with the acquiescence of Hollywood and U.S. tech companies, Jimmy Lai speaks for everyone fighting for the cause of liberty.//

In China’s tightly controlled internet space, the uncensored explosion of any topic must be seen as having the Communist Party’s acquiescence — if not outright backing. And so, the outpouring of online attacks directed at Western fashion brands caught up in the row over Xinjiang cotton has all the hallmarks of being official policy.

Read: https://bit.ly/3rwC8ou

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