BEIJING: China on Wednesday condemned British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt as “shameless”, saying it had lodged a diplomatic complaint to London after he warned of consequences if China neglected commitments made when it took back Hong Kong in 1997.
China has stepped up a war of words with Hong Kong’s former colonial ruler following mass protests there against a now suspended bill that would allow extradition to mainland China.
“To say that the freedoms of Hong Kong residents is something Britain strives for is simply shameless,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a news briefing.
“I would like to ask Mr. Hunt, during the British colonial era in Hong Kong, was there any democracy to speak of? Residents of Hong Kong didn’t even have the right to protest.” Only after Hong Kong’s return to China did its people enjoy an “unprecedented” guarantee about democracy and freedom, he said.
Britain’s responsibilities to Hong Kong under the Sino-British Joint Declaration have ended, and Hong Kong is purely an internal matter for China, Geng added, repeating earlier remarks. (Agencies)
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