China has told the US and former colonial master Britain to mind their own business over its refusal to allow full democracy for Hong Kong any time soon.
"We are Chinese," Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing (李肇星) told reporters in Shanghai yesterday after Washington and London criticized Beijing for blocking political reform.
"Are you clear on that? Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong."
PHOTO: REUTERS
Li added: "Do you think Hong Kong was democratic under British rule? Did the British raise concerns about that? Did the Americans raise concerns? No. Why don't you take a look at this double standard?"
China's most powerful legislative panel told Hong Kong citizens in a ruling on Monday that they cannot democratically choose a successor to unpopular Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (
Beijing also said Hong Kong will be allowed to directly elect only some, and not all, its lawmakers in 2008.
Many Hong Kongers, who want a fully democratic political system for the territory, have responded with a mix of defiance and resignation.
Student activists burned a copy of Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law. Pro-democracy lawmakers chanted slogans and unfurled a banner before storming out of a meeting with a top mainland legislative official.
The Standard newspaper yesterday lamented "a sad day for China."
"Yesterday's ruling from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress that there will be no democracy for Hong Kong was bad enough," The Standard wrote in an editorial. "The way it was delivered showed contempt for Hong Kong's people. Tragically, the ruling also mocks China's desire to be one of the world's trusted leading nations."
Critics say the decision violates China's agreement to grant Hong Kong a great deal of autonomy after the former British colony was handed back in July 1997.
Beijing said full democracy remains a goal for Hong Kong, but that a quick shift to universal suffrage poses too many risks of social and economic instability.
The US Department of State disagreed, saying international confidence in Hong Kong is based on its rule of law and a high degree of autonomy.
"We're disappointed by the decision, as we believe it doesn't adequately reflect the expressed wishes of the Hong Kong people for universal suffrage and democracy," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington.
British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said in London that Beijing had acted inconsistently with its handover promises.
Many Hong Kong residents had expected Beijing to clamp down, but they still were disappointed.
"Hong Kong doesn't want to fight with the central government," said Dolby Tong, a 32-year-old shipping salesman. "We just want to choose our own government which reflects citizens' voices."
Ordinary Hong Kongers now have no say in choosing their leader. They will get to pick 30 of the 60 legislators here in September, but they won't get to elect more than half any time soon, Beijing ruled. The rest are picked by special interest groups, such as businessmen and bankers, who tend to side with Beijing.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts said. Footage of the collapse on Wednesday showed a huge cloud of ice and rubble hurtling down the mountainside into the hamlet of Blatten. Swiss Development Cooperation disaster risk reduction adviser Ali Neumann said that while the role of climate change in the case of Blatten “still needs to be investigated,” the wider impacts were clear on the cryosphere — the part of the world covered by frozen water. “Climate change and
Poland is set to hold a presidential runoff election today between two candidates offering starkly different visions for the country’s future. The winner would succeed Polish President Andrzej Duda, a conservative who is finishing his second and final term. The outcome would determine whether Poland embraces a nationalist populist trajectory or pivots more fully toward liberal, pro-European policies. An exit poll by Ipsos would be released when polls close today at 9pm local time, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Final results are expected tomorrow. Whoever wins can be expected to either help or hinder the
DENIAL: Musk said that the ‘New York Times was lying their ass off,’ after it reported he used so much drugs that he developed bladder problems Elon Musk on Saturday denied a report that he used ketamine and other drugs extensively last year on the US presidential campaign trail. The New York Times on Friday reported that the billionaire adviser to US President Donald Trump used so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that he developed bladder problems. The newspaper said the world’s richest person also took ecstasy and mushrooms, and traveled with a pill box last year, adding that it was not known whether Musk also took drugs while heading the so-called US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after Trump took power in January. In a
RSS