EU Raised Foreign NGO Law at EU-China Human Rights Dialogue

China and the EU held their 36th Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing on July 9 and 10. The EU press release about the dialogue makes clear that issues such as detained lawyers and the situation in Xinjiang were a key focus of the sessions, but the EU also raised the Foreign NGO Law: “Other issues raised include the death penalty, systemic problems in the criminal justice system, including cases of arbitrary detention, restrictions on freedom of expression and association, and as well as the implementation of China’s Foreign NGO Activity Management Law.” In contrast, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ press release does not refer to the Foreign NGO Law, or to NGOs at all.