Gov’t rebukes EU, US politicians for interfering on Hong Kong

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer

China accused some U.S. and European politicians of interfering in its domestic affairs after they commented on Hong Kong demonstrations that were deemed as supportive of protesters.

The Hong Kong branch of China’s foreign ministry on Saturday described demonstrators as criminals and extremists, and said support for them equates to “favoring and condoning lawless and violent acts.”

Hong Kong police arrested several prominent opposition figures on Friday and warned other protesters could share their fate, raising tensions as authorities seek to quell pro-democracy demonstrations that have raged for almost three months. U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer said on Friday that the detentions were a sign of “weakness and fear,” and that the Chinese Communist Party had broken its promise to the people of Hong Kong.

“The remarks made by some U.S. politicians disrespect the strict law enforcement by the Hong Kong police,” the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong said in a statement on Saturday. The real purpose is to let criminals continue to plague Hong Kong and completely destroy the rule of law in Hong Kong.”

In a separate statement, the office opposed remarks made by Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Mogherini told reporters on Friday that developments in Hong Kong were extremely worrying and authorities should respect freedoms and rights of people to demonstrate peacefully.

“Some politicians in the EU are confusing right and wrong to express their so-called concerns about this,” the office said. “At the moment when Hong Kong is on the verge of restoring the rule of law or sliding into a bottomless abyss, it is totally wrong for some politicians in the EU to confuse black and white and not to condemn the violent and illegal acts by extremists.”

The office has previously bashed the U.S. for interfering in the ongoing Hong Kong unrest. It said earlier in August that some U.S. lawmakers incite violence with their words and actions and show they are the “black hand” behind protests in Hong Kong. Bloomberg