European Commission and High Representative note crackdown on Hong Kong opposition and expanded pursuit of activists in exile

Enforcement of national security legislation further restricted political opposition and freedoms in Hong Kong in 2025, while the pursuit of activists abroad targeted an EU citizen for the first time, the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs note. Their annual report describes the dissolution of opposition parties, lengthy trials and administrative pressure affecting the media and civil society.

In brief The joint report by the European Commission and the High Representative covers 2025. It notes the continued erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy and fundamental freedoms amid the enforcement of national security legislation. The remaining opposition parties ceased operating, while candidates in legislative elections underwent political screening. Of the 90 seats, only 20 were directly elected. The overseas pursuit was extended to 15 more activists, including an EU citizen living in Germany. The report’s total reached 34 people pursued abroad by the end of 2025. The authors flag risks to fair trial rights in national security cases, but state that the rule of law remains largely intact outside them. Hong Kong also remained a business hub for approximately 1,770 EU companies.

The withdrawal of the opposition from political life is one of the documented changes. The Democratic Party, once the largest party in the local legislature, completed its dissolution in December 2025, after the League of Social Democrats announced in June that it was ceasing operations. The report places these decisions in a climate of intense political pressure. In the December legislative elections, all candidates had to undergo political screening, and only 20 of the 90 seats were directly elected by the public.

Criminal cases further reduced opponents’ room for action. The report records the guilty verdict issued in December 2025 against media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai on two charges under the national security law and one concerning seditious publications. The trial involved 156 days of hearings, compared with the 83 initially scheduled. The authors identify delays, prolonged pre-trial detention and the use of solitary confinement in national security cases as concerns for the right to a fair trial.

The application of the new offences also reached relatives of activists in exile. Kwok Yin-sang, the father of activist Anna Kwok, was tried in 2025 for allegedly managing funds or financial assets belonging to his daughter. According to the report, it was the first case in which a relative of a wanted activist was charged with a national security offence; the trial ended in December, with the verdict scheduled for 2026.

Outside the territory, the authorities expanded the pursuit of people associated with Hong Kong Parliament. The police announcement in July 2025 concerned 19 people, four of whom were already on the wanted list, while rewards were announced for the other 15. The EU report gives a total of 34 people pursued abroad at the end of the year and states that those newly targeted included a European citizen residing in Germany.

Hong Kong authorities say these actions target subversion offences. In a statement issued in July 2025 in response to British criticism, the local government accused Hong Kong Parliament of seeking to undermine state power through illegal means and defended the police measures as necessary and legitimate. The government also stated that protecting national security is compatible with respecting rights and freedoms.

The pressures described in the report go beyond criminal proceedings. The authors point to the use of tax audits, restrictions on access to event venues and the withdrawal of permits or accreditations to exert pressure on journalists, activists and civic organisations. In 2025, national security conditions were also introduced for nearly 20 types of commercial licences and permits, including those for restaurants and bakeries, with the possibility of revoking them for certain conduct by holders, employees or subcontractors.

The report nevertheless maintains a distinction between security cases and the rest of the judicial system. “Although the rule of law remains largely intact outside national security cases, there is a risk that the effects will spread,” the authors assess. The document also shows that internet access remained largely open, allowing access to independent media, while some court rulings in 2025 protected freedom of expression.

The critical assessment appears alongside an economic relationship that remains extensive. In 2025, approximately 1,770 EU companies operated in Hong Kong, while bilateral trade in goods totalled €27.7 billion. The number of European companies had increased compared with the previous year, although the presence of regional headquarters and regional offices remained below 2019 levels. The report’s data therefore do not describe a general withdrawal by European companies.

For the EU, the pursuit of activists abroad also concerns the exercise of freedoms on European territory. In its response in July 2025, the Union described the targeting of the EU citizen as an attempt at intimidation and called for the withdrawal of the warrants and rewards issued under the national security law. The annual report also records the monitoring of trials by the EU Office and the consulates of Member States, which conducted more than 50 observations of judicial proceedings in 2025.