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WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday (November 2) denounced Beijing for the arrests of eight opposition politicians in Hong Kong and said China was seeking to silence dissent.
Pompeo in a statement said the United States “strongly condemns” the arrests of politicians, five of whom are lawmakers in the financial center.
“The Hong Kong government’s harassment and intimidation of pro-democracy representatives and attempts to suppress dissent are clear examples of its continued complicity with the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party, which seeks to dismantle Hong Kong’s promised autonomy and gut the respect for human rights “. Pompeo said.
“We call on Beijing and the Hong Kong government to respect the right of the Hong Kong people to voice their grievances through their elected representatives.”
Hong Kong authorities said they made the arrests due to protests and squabbles that erupted earlier this year within the legislature, where only half of the seats are directly elected.
The United States has repeatedly criticized China for its crackdown in Hong Kong, including a strict new security law.
LEE: China’s polarizing new security law: Sunset for Hong Kong or return to stability?
But China has stepped up actions against critics in Hong Kong, to which Beijing promised a separate system before Britain returned the city in 1997.
