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The Chinese embassy in Britain on Tuesday criticized “factual distorting” comments made by British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on the case of 12 Hong Kong residents accused of illegally crossing the border.
On August 23, the Guangdong Coast Guard intercepted a boat in waters under its jurisdiction, containing 12 residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) who were later detained for illegally crossing the border.
On Monday, Rabb issued a statement saying that the British side is “deeply concerned” that the 12 Hong Kong suspects were “tried in secret” in Shenzhen, and calling on China to “carry out trials in a fair and transparent manner.”
In response, the Chinese embassy emphasized that the case was submitted to an open trial at the Yantian District People’s Court in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.
Some deputies of the National People’s Congress and members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference of HKSAR and Shenzhen, as well as journalists and relatives of the accused attended the trial, the embassy said.
China upholds the rule of law and violators must be brought to justice, the embassy stressed.
The handling of the case by China’s judicial institutions in accordance with the law does not admit of distortion, discrediting or interference, the embassy added.
China urges the UK side to take concrete steps to comply with international law and basic norms governing international relations, and to immediately stop interfering in HKSAR affairs, China’s internal affairs and the judicial sovereignty of China. China, the embassy said.
On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian responded to “irresponsible” comments from the US embassy about this case.
Zhao said China strongly opposed the embassy’s comments and urged the United States to immediately stop using HKSAR’s troubles to meddle in China’s internal affairs.
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China criticizes ‘irresponsible’ comments from US embassy on interfering in its internal affairs
