EU report highlights continued deterioration of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong

The European Commission and the High Representative have adopted today the 28th annual report to the European Parliament and the Council on political and economic developments in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. This report covers developments in 2025.

The report highlights the continuous erosion of Hong Kong's autonomy and of the fundamental freedoms and rights of the people of Hong Kong, a consequence of the Hong Kong government's incessant focus on national security in the fifth year after the imposition of the National Security Law.

In 2025, trials continued against pro-democracy activists, advocates and politicians under the National Security Law and other legislation. In December, the court convicted media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai on national security and sedition charges. Lai, a British citizen, has been held in custody continuously since 31 December 2020, mostly in solitary confinement.

Authorities also initiated new prosecutions on national security grounds. Activist Joshua Wong was newly charged with ‘conspiring to collude with foreign forces', while already serving a prison sentence in a subversion case. Kwok Yin-sang, father of exiled activist Anna Kwok, was prosecuted for attempting to deal with his daughter's financial assets. This was the first time a relative of a wanted activist was charged with a national security offence.

In an extra-territorial application of the National Security Law, Hong Kong authorities issued arrest warrants with bounties against a further 15 overseas activists, including a European citizen.

2025 continued to see court rulings supporting the advancement of the rights of LGBTIQ+ people. However, the Legislative Council rejected a draft bill intended to establish an alternative framework for same-sex partnerships, a requirement imposed by Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal in September 2023.

In the run-up to the Legislative Council elections in December, the remainder of Hong Kong's political opposition parties disbanded, including The Democratic Party, once the largest party in Hong Kong's legislature.

In 2025, Hong Kong remained the world's third-largest financial centre and a major trading and logistics hub. About 1,770 EU companies were active in Hong Kong, making the EU the largest non-Chinese foreign business presence. The EU was Hong Kong's sixth-largest trading partner in goods with a total of €27.7 billion, a surplus of €18.9 billion for the EU. Hong Kong was the EU's tenth-largest partner for trade in services amounting to €48.6 billion and a surplus for the EU of €18.7 billion.

Background

Since Hong Kong's handover to the People's Republic of China in 1997, the EU and its Member States have closely followed political and economic developments in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the ‘one country, two systems' principle.

In line with the commitment given to the European Parliament in 1997, the European Commission and the High Representative issue an annual report on political and economic developments in Hong Kong. This is the 27th report, covering developments in 2024.

For More Information

Link to the report