European Parliament demands the release of Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai
Official title: De veroordeling van Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong en de straf die hem boven het hoofd hangt
Status: Parliament has approved this proposal. (parliament: ‘Adopted’)
In plain language
- The European Parliament condemns the conviction of pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai and calls for his immediate, unconditional release.
- The text addresses authorities in Hong Kong and China, urging EU member states to impose targeted sanctions and suspend extradition treaties.
- Nothing changes directly in your daily life, but it reaffirms the EU's firm stance on global human rights and media freedom.
Automatically summarised (gemini-3.8-flash). AI can make mistakes: if in doubt, read the official text.
How parliament voted
Passed on 22 January 2026503 for · 9 against · 100 abstention(s)
In the European Parliament, a parliamentary group is a group of MEPs from like-minded parties in different countries. For each group, you can see how many members voted for or against, or abstained.
- For
- Against
- Abstain
- Dot: colour of the group
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EPP (Christian Democrats) Voted for
168 for · 0 against · 0 abstentions
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S&D (Social Democrats) Voted for
112 for · 0 against · 0 abstentions
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Patriots for Europe Divided
27 for · 0 against · 42 abstentions
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ECR (Conservatives) Divided
61 for · 0 against · 3 abstentions
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Renew (Liberals) Voted for
64 for · 0 against · 0 abstentions
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Greens/EFA Voted for
49 for · 0 against · 0 abstentions
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The Left Divided
11 for · 1 against · 21 abstentions
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Non-attached Divided
9 for · 8 against · 10 abstentions
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Europe of Sovereign Nations Divided
2 for · 0 against · 24 abstentions
How MEPs voted, by country
Each country elects its own MEPs. Here you can see how the members from each country voted, regardless of their group.
🇮🇪 MEPs from Ireland
Majority in favour13 for · 0 against · 0 abstentions
See all countries
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🇦🇹 Austria
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🇧🇪 Belgium
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🇧🇬 Bulgaria
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🇭🇷 Croatia
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🇨🇾 Cyprus
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🇨🇿 Czechia
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🇩🇰 Denmark
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🇪🇪 Estonia
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🇫🇮 Finland
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🇫🇷 France
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🇩🇪 Germany
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🇬🇷 Greece
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🇭🇺 Hungary
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🇮🇪 Ireland
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🇮🇹 Italy
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🇱🇻 Latvia
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🇱🇹 Lithuania
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🇱🇺 Luxembourg
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🇲🇹 Malta
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🇳🇱 Netherlands
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🇵🇱 Poland
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🇵🇹 Portugal
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🇷🇴 Romania
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🇸🇰 Slovakia
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🇸🇮 Slovenia
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🇪🇸 Spain
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🇸🇪 Sweden
Figures: for / against / abstention.