China warns Britain against interference in HongKong
December 3, 2014, 5:38 am

British Prime Minister David Cameron (L) prepares for a roundtable meeting during an EU Summit at the EU Council headquaters in Brussels, Belgium, Oct.24, 2014 [Xinhua]

“If certain people in Britain still want to keep on like this, it is not only irrational and useless but like lifting up a rock to drop it on one’s foot,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying on Tuesday in Beijing.

“These lawmakers are not attempting to enter China on a ‘friendly visit’ but rather for investigative purposes. We don’t need foreign politicians researching on Chinese territory,” Hua said.

The spokesperson said China wants to develop ties with Britain, based on “mutual respect and non interference into domestic affairs”.

“China and Britain’s bilateral relationship will only work if the two work together,” she added.

Beijing was reacting to UK lawmakers urging the government to condemn China in an emergency debate in the British parliament.

UK members of parliament have also said China has gone back on its agreement with Britain on autonomy for Hong Kong, a former British colomy.

“If there’s a commitment to democracy in Hong Kong you first have to understand democracy. This is a manifestly irresponsible and incorrect position to take,” said Richard Ottoway, chairperson of British parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has also underlined that his government sees China’s decision as “mistaken”.

“His view is that the decision with regard to the foreign affairs committee is a mistaken one. It’s counter productive because it only serves to amplify concerns about the situation in Hong Kong, rather than diminishing concerns,” Cameron’s spokesperson told reporters in London on Monday.

Hong Kong has been rocked with protests against Chinese government plans to control the 2017 election in the former British colony. Hong Kong’s top official is currently chosen by a group of 1,200 electors. Only some seats in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council are chosen by the public.

Activists are saying Beijing has gone back on its pledge to allow universal suffrage in the former British colony, which was promised a high degree of autonomy when it was handed back to China by Britain in 1997.

According to Hong Kong’s “Basic Law” and the top Chinese legislature’s decisions, more than 5 million Hong Kongers can choose the chief executive in 2017 through a “one man, one vote” election. The formula allows it wide-ranging autonomy and freedoms and specifies universal suffrage for Hong Kong as an eventual goal, which had never been realized under the British colonial rule.

TBP and Agencies