[ad_1]
Image source, Reuters
Fifteen pro-democracy lawmakers resigned earlier this month in protest of the new Chinese rules.
China has strongly criticized Britain, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada after Beijing was accused of trying to silence critics in Hong Kong.
The Five Eyes, an intelligence-sharing treaty, has criticized China for imposing new rules to remove elected lawmakers in Hong Kong.
This coalition urged Beijing to reverse the action.
A spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry warned these countries not to get their hands on China’s affairs and said: “You must be careful, otherwise you will be hooked.”
“They have 5 eyes, but 10 eyes are nothing. The Chinese never cause trouble and they never fear anything,” said spokesman Zhao Lap Kien in Beijing on Thursday. .
Hong Kong: Hundreds of people were arrested for protesting on July 1
Last week, Hong Kong suspended four pro-democracy lawmakers from the legislature after Beijing passed a resolution allowing the Hong Kong government to remove politicians deemed a security threat. nation.
In response, all of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy lawmakers announced their resignation. For the first time since Britain handed Hong Kong over to China in 1997, the legislature had little disagreement.
The removal of the four Hong Kong lawmakers is seen by many as China’s latest attempt to limit Hong Kong’s freedom, which Beijing denies.
The Foreign Ministers of the Five Eyes group urged China to restore these people, saying that the move was a clear violation of the legally binding commitment to protect the freedom and autonomy of the special zone. .
They also accused Beijing of undermining the right of Hong Kongers to be elected on their behalf.
The Five Eyes is an intelligence-sharing coalition of five English-speaking countries, dating back to the Cold War era. Initially, the group was formed to monitor the Soviet Union and its allies.
Tensions over Hong Kong’s national security law
Earlier, the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong said that any foreign attempt to threaten or pressure Beijing to “make concessions” “will inevitably fail.”
Hong Kong was handed over to China on the principle of ‘one country, two regimes’, allowing the special zone to retain more rights and freedoms than the mainland until 2047.
As a Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong has its own multi-party legal, political system and enjoys rights including freedom of assembly and freedom of expression.
But in late June, China passed a controversial national security law after several years of anti-Beijing and pro-democracy protests.
This law criminalizes “secession, overthrow, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces.”
Beijing says the law is meant to ensure Hong Kong’s stability, but Western governments and human rights organizations say the law effectively limits freedom of speech and demonstrations.
After the law was passed, several pro-democracy organizations in Hong Kong disbanded due to concerns for the safety of their members.
