UK will mobilise global community if China breaches ‘one country, two systems’: Nick Clegg

Britain will honour its 1984 pledge to "mobilise the international community and pursue every legal and other avenue available" if China breaches the agreement vowing "one country, two systems" for Hong Kong.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was quoted as telling ex-chief Secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang and Democratic Party founding chairman Martin Lee Chu-ming this during their current visit to the UK.

A press release issued yesterday by Chan's think tank Hong Kong 2020 said Clegg had told the pair he was aware of the anxiety caused by Beijing's white paper on Hong Kong last month.

Watch: Anson Chan slams Britain's latest report on Hong Kong in UK Parliament

The meeting drew a strong rebuke from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing, with China issuing a complaint to Britain. "The Chinese side urges the British side to truly respect China's position and concern [and] ... immediately stop its interference in Hong Kong's affairs," spokesman Hong Lei said.

The white paper, which emphasised Beijing's "comprehensive jurisdiction" over Hong Kong, was viewed by critics as going against the promise of a high degree of autonomy in the Sino-British Joint Declaration.