Chinese authorities firmly rejected the so-called Hong Kong-related resolution of the European Parliament (EP) which smeared Hong Kong's democracy and freedom, calling it a "a piece of waste paper and a joke."

The EP passed a resolution on Thursday on the so-called violation of freedom in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, calling for sanctions against the Chinese central government and Hong Kong government officials and urging a boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games. 

In a quick response, Chinese authorities, including the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Chinese Foreign Ministry's commissioner officer in Hong Kong, and the Chinese Mission to the EU on Friday all strongly slammed the resolution.

In a statement released on Friday, the spokesperson of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said that the resolution is just "a piece of waste paper and a joke." The spokesperson noted that China has bid farewell to the humiliating era of being slaughtered and bullied long before and the colonization in Hong Kong has also ended long before. If someone still thinks that they can boss around and threaten China, it is overconfident. 

The spokesperson urged some European politicians to wake up from the old dreams of colonialism.

At a routine press conference on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian noted that Hong Kong-related affairs are China's domestic affairs. The city has returned to the right track of development since the implementation of the national security law for Hong Kong, and is now safe and stable and has better security for a legal environment, and these are undeniable truths. 

In terms of human rights issues, the EP should learn to reflect on themselves and get rid of their old habit of always wanting to be a teacher to others, Zhao noted. 

On the same day, the Foreign Ministry's commissioner officer in Hong Kong warned EP politicians that Hong Kong's good governance brooks no interference or damage. 

Hong Kong was in chaos years ago. The central government acted decisively in adopting the national security law for the HKSAR, improving Hong Kong's electoral system, and firmly implementing the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong." These measures made Hong Kong transform from chaos to stability and prosperity, and brought Hong Kong's democratic development back on track. Hong Kong has since taken on a new look of sound and effective governance, the spokesperson of the office said. 

The commissioner officer said that there was no democracy in Hong Kong under British colonial rule, and the Chinese government is the designer, builder, promoter and defender of Hong Kong's democratic system.

The spokesperson of the Chinese Mission to the EU also said in a statement Friday it firmly opposes the resolution. 

We strongly urge the EP to abide by international law and basic norms governing international relations, stop interfering in Hong Kong SAR's rule of law and judicial independence, stop denigrating and distorting "one country, two systems," stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs, and stop damaging the normal atmosphere of China-EU relations, read the statement. 

Aside from the resolution on Hong Kong, the EP had adopted resolutions that interfere in China's domestic affairs, including on China's Xinjiang region and Taiwan, to wield influence on EU members and win over legislative power. 

In December 2020, the EP adopted a resolution on "forced labor" and the situation of the Uygurs in China's Xinjiang region, citing human rights concerns. And in October 2021, it called for closer relations with the island of Taiwan and issued a warning over cross-Straits tensions.

Ideological bias has led the EP to go astray further in recent years, which will eventually erode the political trust between China and the EU as it violated the principles of not interfering in each other's domestic affairs, Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Friday.

These resolutions on China may also deepen the European people's misunderstanding of China. By adopting these resolutions based on no facts, the European Parliament is reinforcing a negative image of China, Cui said. 

As the EP has no administrative or decision-making power, it shares less responsibility and is attempting to abduct the EU with such irresponsible and groundless resolutions, experts noted. 

The resolution is non-binding, meaning no direct action will result from it. Instead, it is seen as a series of recommendations for the European Commission and EU member states.

Although these resolutions are non-binding, they reflect the anti-China attitude of some members in the EP and the tendency of using topics on human rights as tools to pressure China, Cui said.

China has never denied the divergences between it and the EU and is promoting  deeper cooperation while properly dealing with the divergences, and EU politicians should also work with China in the same direction, which will benefits both sides, analysts said.