‘Stop meddling’, China tells UK

CHINA warned Britain to stop “med- dling” in Hong Kong, after a top British official called the international financial hub’s leader to voice concern about protests that have rocked the city for two months.

The pro-democracy protests, which are partly fuelled by widespread anger at an erosion of liberties in Hong Kong, have become the biggest threat to Beijing’s rule of the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city since its handover from the British in 1997.

On Friday, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had a call with Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, where he emphasised the need for a “fully independent investigation into recent events”, according to Britain’s foreign ministry – prompting a furious response from Beijing.

“China solemnly demands that the British side immediately stop all actions that meddle in Hong Kong affairs and interfere in China’s internal affairs,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Saturday.

Slamming Raab’s decision to call Carrie Lam as“wrong”, Hua urged Britain to stop “stirring up trouble” in Hong Kong in an online statement.

Beijing has increasingly pitched the anti-government protests in the semiautonomous region as funded by the West, but has provided little evidence beyond supportive statements from some Western politicians.

Last week, the Chinese government slammed Washington after reports emerged that some US diplomats based in Hong Kong had met with prodemocracy activists.

The Chinese foreign ministry urged the US to “immediately make a clean break with various anti-China rioters” and “stop interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs immediately”.