STATEMENT ON THE ARREST OF JOSHUA WONG
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China condemns the arrest of Joshua Wong in the strongest terms.
Like so many other young people in Hong Kong, Joshua Wong is a peaceful campaigner for freedom and democracy. Far from being a criminal, he should be admired for his courageous stand in defence of what Hong Kong was promised by international treaty and ratified by the People’s Republic of China and lodged at the United Nations. .
If Joshua and other peaceful young campaigners for democracy are not immediately released without charge the signal to the international community could not be clearer: the current leadership of the People’s Republic of China does not respect, or intend to abide by, the rules of the international order.
Arresting those whose only crime is to defend international covenants and treaties is a symbolic rejection of those agreements, and must be condemned as such by world governments.
As legislators we commit today to raise our voices in defence of the youth of Hong Kong, who have shown themselves to be global leaders in the defence of common values in the face of hostility from a government intent on eroding them.
