Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: Annual Report for 2019

Summary:

Report published by the European Commission and the High-Representative for Foreign Policy on 22 July 2020 concerning the latest political and economic developments in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), covering 2019.

Further information:

Since the handover of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China in 1997, the European Union (EU) and its Member States have followed political and economic developments in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle. The report attests to the deep partnership between the European Union and Hong Kong S.A.R., encompassing wide-ranging trade, financial and people-to-people ties. In 2019, the EU had over €136.2 billion worth of investment stock and over 2,300 EU companies operating in Hong Kong. The EU maintained its position in 2019 as Hong Kong's second-largest trading partner after mainland China.

According to the document, 2019 was an exceptionally challenging year for Hong Kong, with sustained unrest initially triggered by proposals to amend the law governing extradition. The report examines the protracted social unrest and violence in 2019 that has continued into 2020. The unrest exposed profound divisions in society and caused significant societal and economic harm. The report also underlines that concerns about the erosion of the “one country, two systems” principle continued to increase throughout the year. It documents the impediments imposed on the exercise of some key freedoms.

• Primary Source

Official

European Commission: Press Release, 22/07/2020: Hong Kong 2019 Annual Report: an exceptionally challenging year https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_1387

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