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HK leader tells British minister his views are irrelevant
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Hong Kong’s leader has scoffed at calls by a British minister for “greater democratic freedoms” in the city, dismissing London’s views as irrelevant.
British Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire said in a newspaper opinion piece that Hong Kong’s progress towards universal suffrage was “vital to its future stability” and that electoral reforms must offer voters a “genuine choice.”
But Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying hit back yesterday saying the question of Hong Kong’s progress towards universal suffrage was not relevant to Britain.
“Hong Kong does not need support from the British government or any other foreign governments on the issue of political reform and universal suffrage for chief executive in 2017,” he told reporters.
“This matter is entirely within the area of the Chinese people, and is not relevant to Britain,” Leung said after a public forum in the city.
His remarks echo previous frosty statements made by Beijing accusing the United States of meddling with the financial hub’s internal affairs when Washington’s consul general in Hong Kong spoke in favour of universal suffrage.
Universal suffrage
The central government has promised that the southern city will see a transition to universal suffrage by 2017. Debate over Hong Kong’s electoral reforms has revolved around how candidates will be chosen to stand for the 2017 chief executive election.
Swire, a minister of state at the UK Foreign Office, said in an opinion piece published in the Saturday edition of the South China Morning Post: “There is no perfect model anywhere in the world, but the important thing is that the people of Hong Kong have a genuine choice to enable them to feel they have a real stake in the outcome.”
He added: “Britain stands ready to support in any way we can.”
Leung said in response to Swire’s remarks: “There is no need for the British government nor any foreign government to intervene on the matter.”
Beijing last month accused Washington’s consul general in Hong Kong, Clifford Hart, of meddling in China’s internal affairs after he made remarks on looking forward to “progress towards genuine universal suffrage.”
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