LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th July, 2019) UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Wednesday that the best way for China to preserve good relations with the United Kingdom was to respect the legal bilateral agreements, in an apparent reference to the 1997 Hong Kong handover agreement.
Under the 1997 Joint Declaration of the United Kingdom and China, Hong Kong went under Chinese rule as a special administrative unit whose citizens would enjoy exclusive political, economic, and personal freedoms until 2047 under the "one country, two systems" concept. On Monday, which marked the 22nd anniversary of the transfer, Hunt said that the agreement was still in force and, therefore, must be observed. Beijing slammed his statement as interference in its domestic affairs.
"Message to Chinese govt: good relations between countries are based on mutual respect and honouring the legally binding agreements between them. That is the best way to preserve the great relationship between the UK and China," Hunt said in a post on his Twitter account.
Earlier in the day, Chinese Ambassador to London Liu Xiaoming was summoned to the UK Foreign Office over delivering "unacceptable and inaccurate" remarks on London's alleged interference in Hong Kong's domestic affairs.
Last week, UK Prime Minister Theresa May told Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua that London was concerned about protests in Hong Kong, ongoing for several weeks now over a controversial extradition bill, which, if passed, would allow fugitives to be transferred to jurisdictions Hong Kong has no respective agreements with, including mainland China. Hunt, in turn, has urged Hong Kong's government to start negotiations with the protesters.
