The flags of China and Hong Kong are displayed in rows.
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The Chinese embassy on Thursday responded to U.S. criticism of Hong Kong’s new national security law, saying the U.S. should “respect China’s sovereignty.”
Hong Kong lawmakers passed a new national security law on Tuesday that critics say gives the government more power to suppress dissent.
The law imposes severe penalties for a variety of acts, including “treason” and “insurrection,” punishable by life imprisonment.
Following the announcement, the US State Department called the threats outlined in the law “ill-defined and incredibly vague.”
“We believe these types of measures have the potential to accelerate the closure of Hong Kong’s once-open society,” said spokesman Vedant Patel.
China’s embassy in the US responded by saying that other countries should not interfere in their affairs.
“Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong. “Hong Kong affairs are solely China’s internal affairs, which no country can point fingers or interfere with,” a spokesman said on Wednesday.
“We urge the US side to respect China’s sovereignty, abide by the principles of international law and the basic norms of international relations, and immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, which are China’s internal affairs.”
Hong Kong’s Legislative Council introduced the bill, known as Article 23, on March 8, and Prime Minister John Lee urged the law to be passed “as quickly as possible” given the “increasingly complex” geopolitical backdrop.
Earlier this month, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the US had developed “new ways to suppress China” and that its accusations against Beijing had reached “unbelievable proportions”.
“There is some progress in China-US bilateral relations, but we must point out that the US continues to adhere to a false understanding of China,” he said.
— CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng and Clement Tan contributed to this story.
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2024-03-21 04:52:39
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