It added that it would not nominate him as a candidate in the municipal elections and would not recommend to his member organizations that his application for membership be approved.
Chen-Ye announced on Twitter on Sunday that he would resign from the advisory group after weighing the matter and continue as an independent decision-maker in Vantaa City Council. โI understand I chose my words carelessly,โ he said.
His resignation is the result of a post he posted on his blog and Twitter on Friday. Chen-Ye wrote that human rights issues in China have been discussed recently, and called for a “neutral approach” to China’s “sensitive issues.” He later removed the statement from the public domain.
The debate on human rights issues intensified after the Prime Minister’s statement on Friday Sanna Marin (SDP). Marin expressed his grave condemnation of the systematic rape and torture of women reported in Chinese-set concentration camps for Uighurs, an ethnic minority from northwestern China.
“International cooperation cannot turn a blind eye to China’s policy of trampling on human rights and oppressing minorities. Trade or the economy are no reason to turn a blind eye to these atrocities. Human rights must be at the heart of bilateral and multilateral discussions,” he said on Twitter.
His statement was made in response an extensive report on the assault of women in camps published by the BBC on Wednesday 3 February.
Helsingin Sanomat in its analysis described the statement showed unprecedented criticism from China. Finland, the newspaper emphasized, has traditionally taken the primary position of practice, trade and economy in matters related to the world’s largest economy.
“I don’t remember anyone using this hard language at this level,” Mikael Mattlin, a professor of political science at the University of Turku, told Helsingin Sanomat.
Chen-Ye was elected to Vantaa City Council in 2017 as a representative of the national coalition. However, the party expelled him from the advisory group after it was announced that he served as vice-president of the Chinese Supporters Association, which has ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page