International community must confront China’s behaviour – Ward

The international community must confront the Communist Party of China’s disrespect of human rights and the rule of law, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

This week, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) met in Rome to counter the G20 Summit.

Senator Barry Ward, who represented Ireland at the gathering as a Co-Chair of IPAC, said, “The People’s Republic of China has behaved appallingly in so many respects, from its treatment of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang and its quashing of freedom of speech and expression, to its prosecution of peaceful pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong and its threatening and bullying of Taiwan.

“We in IPAC are looking for ‘Magnitsky-style’ legislation to be put in place across Europe. The ‘Magnitsky Act’ was passed by the United States Congress in 2012 to allow the U.S. Government take action against Russian officials who were involved in human rights abuses. If enacted in Europe, such legislation would empower governments to sanction human rights offenders and to aid victims of human rights abuses.

“As global leaders meet this weekend for the G20 Summit in Rome, I am calling on the international community to enact Magnitsky-style legislation in response to the continued actions of the Communist Party of China”, concluded Senator Ward.