China on Wednesday denounced British foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt as “shameless”, saying it had made a diplomatic complaint to London after he warned of consequences if China neglected commitments made when it took back Hong Kong in 1997. China has stepped up a war of words with Hong Kong’s former colonial ruler following mass protests there against a now suspended bill that would allow extradition to mainland China. Britain’s responsibilities to Hong Kong under the Sino-British Joint Declaration have ended, and Hong Kong is purely an internal matter for China, Geng added, repeating earlier remarks. China called the violence an “undisguised challenge” to the “one country, two systems” model under which Hong Kong has been ruled for 22 years. Hong Kong, facing pressure from changes in the world economy and intensifying competition, could not “bear turbulence and internal friction”, it added.

Source: The Telegraph July 03, 2019 22:18 UTC