Chinese Ambassadors Tell Europeans, China Has Legal Basis To Intervene in Hong Kong, If Required

Aug. 15, 2019 (EIRNS)—China’s Ambassadors to the United Kingdom and Germany emphasized to European media that the Chinese government will act, if the situation in Hong Kong becomes “uncontrollable.”

China’s long-time Ambassador to the U.K. Liu Xiaoming told reporters in London today that the Chinese government “would not sit on its hands and watch. We have enough solutions and enough power within the limit of the Basic Law to quell any unrest swiftly.... We hope this will end in an orderly way. In the meantime we are fully prepared for the worst.”

Ambassador to Germany Wu Ken likewise told ZDF television that “the current situation first and foremost is the responsibility of the [Hong Kong Special Autonomous Region] S.A.R. government. But if the S.A.R. government fails to control the situation, the central government would, of course, provide assistance.”

BBC reported obnoxiously that Ambassador Liu insisted on reminding London also that Hong Kong is no longer part of the British Empire, when asked by a reporter about a proposal by Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee Chairman Tom Tugendhat to extend U.K. citizenship rights to Hong Kong Chinese. “I think some of them [MPs] still regard Hong Kong as part of British Empire and they treat Hong Kong as part of the U.K. They are going to have to change their mindset, put them in the proper position and regard Hong Kong as a part of China, not as a part of the U.K.,” Liu responded.

Liu pointed to the hypocrisy of the U.K. calling for “restraint” and dialogue.

“Would the U.K. allow extremists to storm the Palace of Westminster and damage its facilities and get away with it? Would the U.K. give permission for attacking police officers with lethal weapons or setting fire to police stations without any punishment? Would the U.K. allow so-called pro-democracy rioters to occupy the airport, obstruct traffic, disturb social order or threaten safety and people’s life and property? Aren’t all these regarded as crimes in the U.K.?”

He lashed out at the “foreign forces” and “foreign organizations” that were interfering in the Hong Kong situation, both in their political and financial support for the demonstrators, underlining that these actions as well as statements by foreign officials were giving encouragement to the violent demonstrators. This was also the case with the meetings that the British Foreign Office held with leaders of the Hong Kong opposition, he said.

Ambassador Liu was confident that the Hong Kong government would be able to handle the situation. “It is a critical moment for Hong Kong. We hope this will end in an orderly way, but are prepared for the worst,” he said. He pointed out four criteria the Chinese government wanted to emphasize must be followed in resolving the crisis. Firstly, the Beijing government gives its full support to the Hong Kong S.A.R. government. He also encouraged the Hong Kong people to clearly say no to the violence. Secondly, the violent offenders must be brought to justice; thirdly, foreign forces must stop interfering in Hong Kong; and fourthly, the media should show their due responsibility in objective reporting about the Hong Kong situation. “Few media have reported the violence in Hong Kong,” Liu said. “There has been selective reporting and distortions in the Western media.” To enlighten them, he showed a ten-minute video depicting some of the protesters’ violence in Hong Kong.