News / Foreign Policy / China

China says US officials must stop colluding with Hong Kong separatists

Tuesday, 06 August 2019 9:36 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 06 August 2019 9:36 AM ]

Yang Guang (C), spokesperson for mainland China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) of the State Council, speaks concerning the ongoing protests in Hong Kong, at a press conference in Beijing, on August 6, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

China has warned US officials against “colluding” with separatist protesters in Hong Kong, emphasizing that the city belongs to China and that Beijing will respond strongly to any moves challenging its sovereignty.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s commissioner in Hong Kong said on Tuesday that US politicians had to immediately halt colluding with the Hong Kong protesters.

He was reacting to a statement issued by Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi in support of what she referred to as “courageous pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.”

On Sunday, thousands of people, some carrying American and British flags, occupied the streets in Hong Kong following a violent confrontation with police forces.

PressTV-China irate as US, UK flags fly in Hong Kong unrest

Thousands of people, some carrying US and UK flags, have occupied streets in Hong Kong, a day after violently clashing with police.

The city has been rocked by months of unrest and street protests against a proposed extradition bill that the government in the city has effectively dropped.

The protests have nevertheless continued, opening a new front in an escalating face-off between the US and China.

Washington adamantly backs the unrest in Hong Kong despite official protests by Beijing, which warns against foreign meddling in the city’s affairs.

Meanwhile, China’s official news agency Xinhua said on Sunday that the “central government will not sit idly by and let this situation continue.”

A protester throws bricks at police during a strike in Hong Kong, on August 5, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

Hong Kong has been governed under a “one-country, two-system” model since the city — a former British colony — was returned to China in 1997.

Beijing has said the unrest is stoked by “radical protesters” who pose an “open challenge to the central government’s authority.” It says the US and the UK are meddling in Hong Kong’s, and China’s, affairs.

The US and Britain were among the Western countries that opposed the extradition bill as well.

The US is also involved in a trade dispute with China, and it may further stir tensions with Beijing by deploying intermediate-range missiles in Asia.

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