China calls 'Five Eyes' statement on Hong Kong 'gross interference in domestic affairs'

The Chinese embassy in Canada denounced the joint statement issued by ‘Five Eyes’ countries expressing concern over Hong Kong’s “unjust” disqualification of candidates and “disproportionate” postponement of Legislative Council elections. The embassy called the statement on the Hong Kong affairs “irresponsible”  and amounted to “gross interference in China's domestic affairs”.

“China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this," the Chinese embassy said in a statement.

Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam announced last month that the elections scheduled for September 6 have been postponed due to the mounting concern over coronavirus pandemic. Lam told the reporters that the postponement of the Legislative Council election was the “most difficult decision” in the last seven months, conveniently ignoring the implementation of draconian security law.

The delay in polls could be for up to one year, serving another blow to pro-democracy voices after disqualifying a dozen of activists for the local elections. Joshua Wong, one of the city’s most notable pro-democracy activists, said that the mass disqualifications are just the beginning as Beijing is staging multiple acts to prevent the opposition bloc from taking the majority in LegCo.

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Call for holding elections

The ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence alliance, which includes the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK, said that the controversial decisions have undermined the democratic process that has been fundamental to Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity. The foreign ministers of the five countries expressed “deep concern” over the new law, adding that it is eroding the Hong Kong people’s fundamental rights and liberties.

“We support the legitimate expectations of the people of Hong Kong to elect Legislative Council representatives via genuinely free, fair, and credible elections,” the statement read. 

The ministers called on the Hong Kong government to reinstate the eligibility of disqualified candidates and urged to hold the elections as soon as possible. They emphasised that autonomy and freedoms under the “One Country, Two Systems” must be honoured, as promised by Beijing in the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

The Chinese embassy argued that the postponement of local elections was in accordance with the health precaution amid the coronavirus pandemic. It called on the five signatory countries to immediately stop interfering in “China's domestic affairs and use Hong Kong as a tool”.

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(With ANI inputs)