China has tried to intimidate Hong Kong activists in Germany
China has tried to intimidate Hong Kong residents living in Germany since pro-democracy protests broke out in the city two years ago, the German interior ministry said in a letter to a lawmaker published on Tuesday.
The letter, sent to the head of parliament’s human rights
committee, Gyde Jensen, in response to a request for information on the
subject, could add to pressure on Chancellor Angela Merkel to take a firmer
line toward China over human rights.
“Since the start of the protests in Hong Kong, increasing
attempts by Chinese state actors in Germany to influence public opinion in
favour of the Chinese government as well as actions against supporters of the
protests have been identified,” the ministry said in the letter, first
published in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and reviewed on Tuesday by
Reuters.
The letter cited a protest in support of Hong Kong activists
in Hamburg on Aug. 17, 2019 during which Chinese pro-government
counter-demonstrators filmed and photographed participants “presumably for the
purpose of intimidation”.
Some 720 people from Hong Kong have a residency permit in
Germany, it said.
Jensen, a member of the liberal FDP party, told Reuters: “It
is about time that the German government realised that actors for the Chinese
government could pose a threat to exiled Hong Kongers.”
“I am unfortunately sceptical that the mechanisms used by
our security agencies are sufficient to effectively protect those affected,”
she said.
The Chinese embassy in Berlin did not immediately respond to
an email seeking comment. A German interior ministry spokesman said he was not
aware of the letter.
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