US upset over China’s Hong Kong intervention

A protester holds yellow umbrella in front of police officers after clashing as thousands of people march in a Hong Kong street

The U.S. is expressing disappointment over China’s intervention in a political dispute in the semiautonomous region of Hong Kong by barring two separatist lawmakers from office.
State Department spokesman Mark Toner yesterday urged the Chinese and Hong Kong governments to refrain from actions that “undermine confidence” in the so-called one-country two-systems principle — under which Hong Kong retains a separate economic and political system from the communist-governed Chinese mainland until 2047.
Toner said an open society with the highest possible degree of autonomy and government by rule of law “is essential for Hong Kong’s continued stability and prosperity.”
The dispute centers on two newly elected pro-independence lawmakers who altered their oaths of office. China’s top legislative panel ruled Monday that those who advocate Hong Kong independence are disqualified from becoming lawmakers.
A political science expert in Hong Kong says China’s move to intervene in a Hong Kong political dispute amounted to the “strongest message yet” from China that Beijing would not tolerate serious talk of independence.
Linda Li, political science professor at City University of Hong Kong, said the vast majority of Hong Kong residents do not favor breaking away from China but are instead frustrated with governance issues that have stretched on for years.
Li says if Beijing retains a relatively restrained tone in the next few days and leaves the matter in the hands of Hong Kong’s authorities, “it would help cool down the tension.”
She urged the government to “limit the damage” and refrain from prosecuting the two lawmakers.
A by-election will be held to fill the seats of the two members of the Youthspiration party, Sixtus Leung, 30, and Yau Wai-ching, 25, who altered their oaths to insert a derogatory Japanese expression for China. The NPC made no ruling on whether the two could run again for their original seats.
Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying told the press yesterday that it was too early to decide on a date for a by-election. MDT/AP