China terms Hong Kong Legislative Council internal matter, 'no country should intervene'

After disqualifying four lawmakers from Hong Kong's Legislative Council, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin on November 11 intensified pressure on the pro-democracy movement and said that the matter was an internal affair of China and no country should intervene. The pro-democracy legislators were disqualified with immediate effect after the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) passed a resolution allowing local authorities power to unseat politicians without having to go through the city's courts.

While speaking at a conference, Wang said, "I would like to stress that Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of China, and the qualification of HKSAR LegCo (Legislative Council) members is purely an internal affair of China. No other country has the right to make irresponsible remarks or intervene in the matter”. 

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The Foreign Ministry spokesperson further claimed that the decision to disqualify opposition lawmakers was a necessary step to uphold and improve the “one country, two systems” principle, implement that Basic Law and the Hong Kong national security law and maintain the rule of law and constitute an order. Wang added that those who break the law “must be held accountable,” which is the basic principle of any law-based society. The lawmakers unseated were the Civic Party's Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, Kwok Ka-ki and Dennis Kwok, alongside Kenneth Leung of the Professionals Guild. 

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US warns China of more sanctions 

According to BBC, the disqualification came after the National People's Congress Standing Committee, which is one of China's top lawmaking bodies, allowed Hong Kong to remove legislators, who posed a national security threat, without having to go through the court process. The four lawmakers recently disqualified are said to be connected with the pro-democracy movement, a political movement that has managed to garner huge international attention since it sparked about one a half years ago. 

Following the dismissal of the lawmakers, the United States also warned that there would be more sanctions against China over moves that “flagrantly violated” the autonomy of Hong Kong. ted” the autonomy of Hong Kong after Beijing ousted at least four-pro-democracy lawmakers. 

In a statement, the United States national security adviser Robert O’Brien said that the recent actions taken by China of “disqualifying pro-democracy legislators from Hong Kong's Legislative Council leave no doubt that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has flagrantly violated its international commitments.” He also added that the United States would continue to “ identify and sanction those responsible for extinguishing Hong Kong's freedom.”

(With inputs from ANI) 

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