Breaking | Bookseller Lam Wing-kee is a Chinese national who broke mainland law and Beijing has the right to deal with him, ministry declares

Beijing has the right to handle the case of Causeway Bay bookseller Lam Wing-kee in accordance with the law as he is a Chinese national who breached mainland law, the foreign ministry said on Friday amid a public outcry over explosive revelations the bookseller made.

In the wake of intensifying concern that the case of the missing booksellers has shown that “one country, two systems” is under threat, ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the Chinese government is determined to implement the principle.

“Lam Wing-kee is a Chinese citizen, and he has violated China’s laws on the mainland,” Hua said at a daily press briefing in Beijing on Friday. “Relevant authorities in China are authorised to handle the case in accordance with the law.”

She addressed Lam’s claims that his associate Lee Po told him he was kidnapped from Hong Kong in December last year. The spokeswoman said Lee had already explained himself and that what he said had been reported in Hong Kong media.

She called on the public to view the incident “objectively and rationally”.