Chamber Chair Arib protested to the Chinese ambassador to the sanctions imposed on D66 MP ShoreSama. She describes it as unacceptable. On Monday, the European Union took punitive measures against China and that country responded by placing EU politicians on the sanctions list. Sjoerdsma is also among them.
Last month, he submitted a proposal describing China’s approach to the Uyghur genocide. The proposal won a majority in the House of Representatives. One of the actions against D66’er is that he is not allowed to enter China.
In a letter addressed to the Chinese ambassador to The Hague, Arib expressed her dissatisfaction with the “unfortunate step.” She stressed that a member of parliament must be able to express his opinion in a democratic system.
No delegation visit to China
According to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, it is important for parliamentarians to have regular contacts with their colleagues abroad and also to make mutual visits. She points out that a delegation from the Chinese People’s Assembly was in The Hague in 2019 and invited the Dutch deputies to visit them back.
Arib writes: “But a visit by a parliamentary delegation to China is not possible as long as one of the representatives is prohibited from traveling to China.”
The Speaker of the House of Representatives requests the ambassador to inform his government that the Chinese sanctions may have consequences for inter-parliamentary relations. Earlier this week, Secretary Block called the Ambassador to Mat.
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