Beijing:
China on Tuesday voiced ‘strong dissatisfaction’ with a joint statement issued by the G7 leaders supporting Hong Kong’s autonomy and urging for peace after months of pro-democracy protests across the city.
“We express our strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the statement made by the leaders of the G7 Summit on Hong Kong affairs,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a press briefing here.
“We have repeatedly stressed that Hong Kong’s affairs are purely China’s internal affairs and that no foreign government, organisation or individual has the right to intervene,” he added.
During a meeting on Monday, the G7 leaders backed Hong Kong’s autonomy as laid out according to the 1984 agreement between Britain and China, and called for peace in the semi-autonomous body, Al Jazeera reported.
However, China accused the countries of interference in their ‘internal affairs’, saying the G7 was “meddling” and “harbouring evil intentions”.
The semi-autonomous region has witnessed 12 consecutive weeks of protests, which began after the pro-Beijing administration of Hong Kong announced a controversial extradition bill that would have allowed authorities to send criminal suspects to mainland China for prosecution.
That bill has since been shelved, but protesters have continued their calls for more democracy in the special administrative region, demonstrating against the increased influence of China’s mainland on daily life in the Asian financial hub.
So far, Beijing has not intervened over unrest in the semi-autonomous city, despite ramping up the rhetoric against demonstrators and mounting fears that they may act militarily to quell the violence.
Earlier on Tuesday, Hong Kong’s embattled chief executive Carrie Lam was quoted as saying that the anti-government protests had turned more serious, but the government was confident it could handle the crisis itself.
Lam was speaking in public for the first time since demonstrations escalated on Sunday when police fired water cannon and tear gas amid a clash with the protesters, who threw bricks and petrol bombs.
