LONDON/BEIJING - British Foreign Secretary
Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday that he had not backed violent
protests in Hong Kong, after Chinese state media blamed "Western
ideologues" for fomenting unrest in the former British colony.
Hundreds of protesters broke into the Hong Kong legislature
on Monday after a demonstration marking the anniversary of the
return to Chinese rule in 1997 under a "one country, two
systems" formula that includes freedoms not enjoyed in mainland
China, including the right to protest.
That followed weeks of protests against a now-suspended
extradition bill that opponents say would undermine Hong Kong's
much-cherished rule of law and give Beijing powers to prosecute
activists in mainland courts, which are controlled by the
Communist Party.
China has stepped up a war of words with Britain over Hong
Kong, especially after Hunt warned of consequences if China
neglects commitments made when it took back Hong Kong to allow
its way of life for at least 50 years.
State media in particular has blamed London, Washington and
other Western capitals for offering succour to the
demonstrators.
"Ideologues in Western governments never cease in their
efforts to engineer unrest against governments that are not to
their liking, even though their actions have caused misery and
chaos in country after country in Latin America, Africa, the
Middle East and Asia," the official China Daily said in an
editorial.
"Now they are trying the same trick in China," the
English-language newspaper said.
Hunt, speaking to BBC radio, reiterated his condemnation of
the violence.
"Let me be clear what I said. I said that I condemned, and
we as the United Kingdom condemn, all violence and that people
who supported the pro-democracy demonstrators would have been
very dismayed by the scenes they saw," said Hunt, who is vying
to become Britain's next prime minister.
China has said Britain has no more responsibility for Hong
Kong. Britain says it still considers the Joint Declaration in
1984 on the terms of the return of Hong Kong, which guarantees
its freedoms, to be valid.
"I don't think it's a big surprise that China would react
that way but they need to understand that Britain is a country
that honours its international obligations and what I was saying
was something very uncontroversial, actually, which is that we
signed an agreement in 1984 which lasts for 50 years and we
would expect all sides to honour that agreement," Hunt said.
"Hong Kong has an independent judiciary and it's not for me
as foreign secretary of the UK to second guess how that
judiciary works. What I was saying was that there would be
serious consequences if the legally binding international
agreement between the UK and China, if that was violated."
On Wednesday, British Prime Minister Theresa May also said
China must respect the rights and freedoms of people in Hong
Kong and that she had been in touch with Beijing to raise
concerns.
Hunt warned on Tuesday of consequences if China did not
abide by the Sino-British Joint Declaration. His comments were
met by a sharp rebuke from China's ambassador to the UK, who
told Britain to keep its hands off Hong Kong.
Speaking at a news briefing in Beijing, Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang did not offer any new
criticism about Britain having the day before accused Hunt of
being "shameless" for his remarks on Hong Kong.
"For the time being today, I'll restrain myself and won't
say anymore. But if certain people in Britain obstinately stick
to the wrong path, and keep repeating their mistakes, then I
fear I may have more to say."
Widespread damage inside the Legislative Council building,
where protesters smashed furniture and daubed graffiti over
chamber walls, forced the government to close it for two weeks.
The Legislative Council Commission is due to hold a
closed-door special meeting at an undisclosed venue later on
Thursday.
The China Daily accused Western forces of instigating unrest
against Hong Kong's government "as a means to put pressure on
the central government".
"The violent behaviour that these Western agitators are
emboldening tramples on the rule of law in Hong Kong and
undermines its social order," it said.
An editorial in the widely read tabloid The Global Times,
published by the Communist Party's People's Daily, criticised
Hunt's comments and said "the UK's diplomacy toward China will
pay for his behaviour".