BELFAST/LONDON (Reuters) – Britain told China to honour its commitments to protect freedoms in Hong Kong on Tuesday, after police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters in the former British colony.
FILE PHOTO: Anti-extradition bill protesters stand next to a colonial flag of Hong Kong and a banner displayed inside a chamber, after protesters broke into the Legislative Council building during the anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China in Hong Kong, China July 1, 2019. The banner reads: "There are no thugs, only tyranny". REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Officers moved in after crowds stormed and trashed Hong Kongs legislature on Monday, the anniversary of its return to Chinese rule, protesting against proposed legislation allowing extraditions to mainland China.
British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt condemned violence on both sides and warned of consequences if China neglects commitments made when it took back Hong Kong to allow freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, including the right to protest.
“We can make it clear we stand behind the people of Hong Kong in defence of the freedoms that we negotiated for them when we agreed to the handover in 1997 and we can remind everyone that we expect all countries to honour their international obligations,” Hunt told Reuters when asked what Britain could do.
He added that he hoped to avoid sanctions for China, saying: “I hope it wont come up anything like that at all.”
“There is a way through this which is for the government of Hong Kong to listen to the legitimate concerns of the people of Hong Kong about their freedoms,” he added.
China said on Monday Britain no longer has any responsibility for Hong Kong and needed to stop “gesticulating” about the city.
PROTESTERS FEAR MAINLAND CONTROL
China has denied interfering in Hong Kong affairs, though protesters have said the extradition bill is part of a relentless move towards mainland control.
Hunt, a candidate to succeed Theresa May as Prime Minister, said at a campaign event in Belfast that many supporters of the Hong Kong demonstrators would have been dismayed by footage of Mondays protests but that they should not be used as a pretext for repression.
The protests have created a fresh crisis for Chinese President Xi Jinping, already grappling with a trade war with Washington, a faltering economy and tension in the South China Sea.
China and Britain signed a Joint Declaration in 1984 on the terms of the return of Hong Kong.
Monday marked the 22nd anniversary of the actual handRead More
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