Hong Kong election result draws cautious response from Beijing
- No direct comment on pro-democracy landslide, but stopping violence and restoring order remain ‘top priorities’
- Foreign Minister Wang Yi warns any attempt to ‘mess up Hong Kong’ will not succeed
China on Monday reacted cautiously to Hong Kong’s community-level elections with both senior officials and state media offering measured comments on the results, which saw the pro-democracy camp scoring a crushing victory over pro-Beijing candidates.
Speaking in Tokyo after a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi did not comment directly on the election results but stressed that the outcome would not change the fact that Hong Kong was a special administrative region of China.
“It’s not the final result yet. Let’s wait for the final result, OK? However, it is clear that no matter what happens, Hong Kong is a part of China and a special administrative region of China.
“Any attempt to mess up Hong Kong, or even damage its prosperity and stability, will not succeed,” Wang said.
A similar message was delivered by foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang in Beijing who also avoided directly commenting on the election results but said stopping violence and restoring order remained Hong Kong’s top priorities.