New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta rejects China’s Five Eyes warning

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta has issued a mild rebuke to China for warning the Five Eyes intelligence alliance that “its eyes are being poked and blinded.”

China’s comments were made in response to a Five Eyes statement criticizing a Chinese government resolution, which led to the disqualification of four pro-democracy lawmakers in Hong Kong.

The joint statement, signed by New Zealand, said the new rule appeared to be “part of a concerted campaign to silence all critical voices”, calling it a violation of China’s commitment to grant Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy. and freedom of expression. .

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian responded by saying that Five Eyes’ partners – the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – “should face the reality” that the former British colony has been returned to China. .

“It doesn’t matter if they have five or ten eyes, if they dare to harm China’s sovereignty, security and development interests, they must take care that their eyes are pricked and blinded,” he said.

This afternoon, Mahuta replied: “We are aware of the comments and do not agree with them.”

She said New Zealand signed the Five Eyes declaration – which New Zealand had previously refrained from doing – because “enough countries were expressing concern.”

New Zealand and China agreed on “a lot of things” and she hoped China would understand New Zealand’s consistent position on values ​​such as free speech, free media and democracy.

“We are deeply concerned by the recent events there, including the passage of China’s national security legislation for Hong Kong and the recent arrests and disqualification of elected legislators from the Legislative Council,” Mahuta said.

“There is no comparison between the strength and size of a country like China and New Zealand, but New Zealand has an independent foreign policy.

“We will continue to uphold and uphold the values ​​and principles that define who we are, but more importantly, what we seek to achieve as a responsible member of the global community.”

University of Waikato law professor Alexander Gillespie said New Zealand faces a challenge in its diplomatic stance amid tensions between the United States and China.

“Walking this fine line between China, which is our biggest trading partner at the moment, and our traditional allies and friends in the Five Eyes is going to be the most difficult task we have had in a long time in diplomacy,” he said. RNZ.

“We’re going to get pressure from both sides. One side will want us to be quiet and the other side will want to make sure we don’t get out of the group.

It remains to be seen whether there will be trade repercussions between China and New Zealand, he said.

“We are not at the forefront of the debate and we are not antagonizing China to the same degree [as Australia]But we may get a warning in the future, a soft warning. “

Hong Kong, a city of 7.5 million people, was promised autonomy over local affairs for 50 years after its return to China in 1997.

Zhao said that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China and that public officials must “be loyal to the motherland. This is a basic political ethic in every country in the world, right?”

The four disqualified lawmakers were previously barred from running for re-election due to their calls on foreign governments to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong. They had remained in office because the elections were postponed for a year.

Three other former pro-democracy legislators appeared in court in Hong Kong on Thursday, a day after they were arrested for disrupting the legislature during debate on a national anthem bill earlier this year.

The three were joined by supporters holding up slogan signs outside West Kowloon Magistrates Courts.

Eddie Chu, one of the three, said he faced “prosecution by the dictatorship” for his actions to try to block the approval of the national anthem ordinance. The law criminalizes the insult and abuse of the anthem, the March of the Volunteers.

– With AP