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Tony Cheung

Beijing has hit back at US government officials who say democratic development in Hong Kong has "further to go".
Jiang Yu, the foreign ministry's deputy commissioner in Hong Kong, said Beijing would "absolutely not tolerate" external interference and that foreign countries should refrain from commenting on Hong Kong's political reform.
Jiang was responding to a report in The Washington Post on Wednesday that quoted a senior US official as saying Hong Kong was discussed at a meeting between President Xi Jinping and US National Security Adviser Susan Rice on Tuesday.
"Hong Kong did come up, and it was important for us to raise universal suffrage. For us, that means one man, one vote," the official said, according to The  Washington Post.
The report quoted another US official as saying: "The ability of the people of Hong Kong to choose their leadership based on the will of voters is fundamentally what we're looking for. One step is what was announced, and there's further to go."

The comments came after the national legislature approved universal suffrage for the next chief executive election in 2017 but set a restrictive framework for selecting candidates.
Jiang told the South China Morning Post that while she was not aware that political reform came up at the meeting, "the ministry's stance on foreign concern about political reform in Hong Kong is that the matter is entirely the city's internal affair … and a matter within the scope of China's sovereignty".
Jiang, formerly a foreign ministry spokeswoman in Beijing, added: "We want other countries to respect 'one country, two systems' and the affairs within the scope of Chinese sovereignty, as well as not to comment on Hong Kong political reform.
"We have also made it clear that we would absolutely not tolerate any external forces interfering with the progress in Hong Kong's political development. So we hope the international community would respect the implementation of 'one country, two systems' in Hong Kong, because its successful implementation and Hong Kong's prosperity and stability are very important to the international community and Hong Kong."
Jiang declined to comment on yesterday's South China Morning Post report that the United Nations Human Rights Committee would look into universal suffrage in Hong Kong at a meeting next month.
The international body - which monitors civil and political rights around the world - will discuss whether a select group of regions, including Hong Kong, have complied with its previous recommendations.
 


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Jiang Yu (left) and Susan Rice. Photos: Sam Tsang and Reuters

Jiang Yu, deputy commissioner of Beijing's foreign ministry in Hong Kong, said other countries should not comment on political reform in Hong Kong. Photo: Sam Tsang 

UN Human Rights Committee to discuss universal suffrage in Hong Kong

The United Nations Human Rights Committee will assess whether Hong Kong has met standards to ensure 'right of all people to vote'. Photo: Bloomberg

News

Hong Kong

Beijing will not tolerate external interference, national officialin Hong Kong says


The deputy commissioner of Beijing’s foreign ministry in Hong Kong has hit back at Washington officials who said that Hong Kong’s democratic development has 'further to go'.
