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Portugal Illustrates European Weakness on China

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Portugal Illustrates European Weakness on China
A protester holds a placard during a rally against the extradition law outside the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong, China, on May 4, 2019. Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
Peter Dahlin
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Commentary

Portugal’s failure to even attempt to use leverage to secure the safety of its own citizen—a teenager who was detained, held incommunicado, and later sentenced to prison in a secret trial—illustrates European failure to understand the nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and how to deal with it effectively.

Peter Dahlin
Peter Dahlin
Author
Peter Dahlin is the founder of the NGO Safeguard Defenders and the co-founder of the Beijing-based Chinese NGO China Action (2007–2016). He is the author of “Trial By Media,” and contributor to “The People’s Republic of the Disappeared.” He lived in Beijing from 2007, until detained and placed in a secret jail in 2016, subsequently deported and banned. Prior to living in China, he worked for the Swedish government with gender equality issues, and now lives in Madrid, Spain.
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