Washington rebuked for meddling in HK protests
HONG KONG-The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday denounced the United States for meddling in Hong Kong affairs by showing support for unlawful protests against the now-suspended extradition law amendments.
Hua Chunying, a spokesperson of the ministry, made the remarks after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo noted when attending an event at the Economic Club of Washington D.C. that the Hong Kong protests were “appropriate” and such incidents were common in the US. He said he hopes China will “do the right thing” and “respect the agreements in place with respect to Hong Kong”.
At a daily press conference in Beijing, Hua said radical protesters in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region were seen attacking the police with metal rods and other life-threatening weapons.
Maybe the US could “import” such violent protests and show the world how their democracy handles them, Hua said.
Since February, some US politicians and senior government officials, including Vice-President Mike Pence, Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton, have openly commented on Hong Kong affairs, or met with the city’s opposition politicians, Hua said.
Kurt Tong, former consul general of the US to Hong Kong and Macao, and Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the United States House of Representatives, have also been intervening in Hong Kong’s internal affairs, Hua said.
Hua noted that media footage has shown some “American faces”, and even the US national flag, in some of SAR’s recent protests. She questioned what role the US has played in the chaos in the HKSAR, and urged the US government to make it clear to the world.
The US must stop “playing with fire”, which will only get themselves burned, Hua said.
Her remarks came before ministerial-level trade talks between the two nations scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in Shanghai.
The US, Hua emphasized, must clearly understand that the HKSAR is part of China. The central government has reiterated many times that it does not tolerate any foreign interference in Hong Kong’s internal affairs, Hua said.
She stressed that the central government firmly supports the SAR government in exercising law-based governance, and resolutely supports the Hong Kong police force in bringing offenders in violent protests to justice to safeguard the city’s peace, safety and stability.