Sheffield also twinned with Khmelnytskyi in Ukraine in 2022 and made a friendship agreement with Nablus on the West Bank in 2024.
At the meeting last week, Cheung asked: “Where is the standard? We support the idea the local council previously twinned with one more city in Ukraine because of the war.
“The example of Palestine is about solidarity. Why don’t we see more solidarity with British citizens in Hong Kong?
“Our position is, if you keep twinning with the city, according to your policy, at least you have to follow up on these human rights issues.”
According to the the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Cheung told councillors that Hong Kong students in Sheffield feared speaking out against the Chinese state, with some unwilling to give personal information at meetings.
“This is an example of how scared everyone is,” she explained.
“If the council is showing such a friendly relationship with the Chengdu government, it’s not only about business.
“You are showing the Chinese students here that this local government in Sheffield is aligning or endorsing the authoritarian government in China.
“They’re helping with this suppression.”
