BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair was criticised by a number of lawmakers yesterday as he ended his two-day visit to Hong Kong.
During a 45-minute meeting with Mr Blair, some of the eight lawmakers present expressed concern over his comments on mainland human rights and Hong Kong's political developments.
The Frontier's Lee Cheuk-yan criticised Mr Blair over his remarks that China had improved its human rights records.
'I told him you can't say the mainland has improved its human rights because [Chinese dissident] Wei Jingshen was still unable to return to China,' he said.
'I urged him to tell the truth and not to whitewash the mainland's human rights records.' Mr Lee said Mr Blair had tried to justify his remarks by stressing the British Government must 'engage in dialogue' and maintain good relations with China.
Mr Blair said he had dealt with human rights in his meeting with Premier Zhu Rongji.