A view of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's building in February Photo: VCG

The Chinese Foreign Ministry slammed the European Parliament and the UK for interfering in China's domestic affairs in Hong Kong, as these foreign forces have demanded that the Special Administrative Region (SAR) pardon violent rioters and made disparaging comments about the "one country, two systems" policy.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lu Kang said at a routine daily press conference on Thursday in Beijing that China opposes any party, including the European Parliament, interfering in China's domestic affairs.

Relevant parties should respect China's sovereignty over Hong Kong, and should not interfere in Hong Kong affairs, and embolden vandalism that has interrupted the city's order, Lu said. "Otherwise, they will drop the rock on their own feet."  

Lu made the remarks after more than a tenth of the European Parliament's 751 members convened to call on the HKSAR government to formally withdraw its extradition bill and release the violent protesters, and demanded an EU-wide ban on supplying weapons to the city's police.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution on the situation in Hong Kong on Thursday after the debate, calling for "appropriate export control mechanisms" on technologies that could be used to violate human rights.

The proposed resolution "calls for the EU, its member states and the international community to work towards the imposition of appropriate export control mechanisms to deny China, and in particular Hong Kong, access to technologies used to violate basic rights."

Passing such a resolution is not a surprise at all, since the European Parliament has always pretended it is a "champion of human rights" and is very keen to point a finger at China's domestic affairs and this is not the first time, said Cui Hongjian, director of EU Studies at the China Institute of International Studies in Beijing. 

Cui said that "this resolution is not legally binding, and it only shows the parliament's stance. The parliament has very limited influence over EU member states' policymaking on foreign affairs."

The Commissioner Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR also responded to the European Parliament's motion. It said the motion is "motivated by double standards and full of ignorance, prejudice and hypocrisy. It is astonishing that the MPs should ignorantly and arrogantly point a finger at law-based governance of the SAR government and try to impose a Hong Kong policy on China's Central government."  

Lu also slammed outgoing UK Prime Minister Theresa May as she tried to use the Sino-British Joint Declaration again to justify the UK's right over Hong Kong during her valedictory speech on Wednesday.

"My colleagues and I have said again and again here, Hong Kong affairs became China's domestic affairs after July 1, 1997, and the Chinese and HKSAR government's governance over the city is based on the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the Basic Law of the HKSAR, nothing more," Lu said.

The UK has no right to interfere in Hong Kong after July 1, 1997, and "We hope the UK wakes up," he noted.

A street view in Hong Kong's downtown distict Photo: Chen Qingqing/GT

Blind eyes 

Observers noted that when the European Parliament and the UK pretend to defend Hong Kong's democracy, they are truly blind, as they don't see there is also a silent majority in Hong Kong who is urging the government and the police to punish violent protesters and bring peace and stability back to the city.

Many Hong Kong residents are also angry with the interference from Europe and the UK, and are outraged at pro-West opposition groups for asking for support from foreign forces, experts point out.

Some pro-West Hong Kong groups and student unions have urged US politicians to pass a draft law on Hong Kong's "human rights and democracy" as soon as possible.

Tang Tak Shing, chairman of Politihk Social Strategic, a Hong Kong-based NGO, told the Global Times that "this kind of behavior is traitorous. Hong Kong is China's territory. What does it have to do with other countries? Hong Kong is an internationalized city, but it is not a foreign settlement."

Hung Kam-in, a member of Hong Kong's Kwun Tong District Council, told the Global Times on Thursday that "EU members are forgetting their proper job. They have so much mess to clean and fix, and their people have many requests and demands. How could they still have time and the strength to point a finger at China?"

A Beijing-based European studies expert who requested anonymity said that the European Parliament and the UK should read the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration carefully before trying to use it as an excuse to interfere in Hong Kong.

According to the declaration, Hong Kong's previous capitalist system and lifestyle shall remain unchanged for 50 years.

"Why do these Western powers believe that the extradition bill, which targets criminals, has a possible effect on the city's capitalist system and lifestyle? Where is their logic and evidence? Maybe they are worried that their proxies who make trouble in Hong Kong would be punished if the bill passes one day. Additionally, they always forget the 'one country' when mentioning 'two systems,' which is truly hypocritical," the expert said.

He further said that the call of only a tenth of the European Parliament's 751 members for the motion on Hong Kong affairs proves that only a few members are interested in pointing a finger at China's domestic affairs. "Not every EU country is as active as the UK on this issue."