British lords back Hong Kong's policing methods
'Largely proportionate' actions defended in debate at House of Lords
Britain's peers have defended Hong Kong's policing methods, describing them during a House of Lords debate yesterday as "largely proportionate".
Without directly mentioning alleged police abuses, House of Lords' spokesman William Wallace, speaking on behalf of the government, also defended the city's rule of law, saying it had been upheld.
Wallace said Britain was mindful of "reform, consultation [and] slow progress" as the preferred option rather than "the politics of the streets" as happened in the Arab Spring.
Former Hong Kong governor David Wilson, who led the British side of a working group tasked with drafting the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, agreed that recent policing had been proportionate, and gave credit to officers.
Wilson, who served as governor from 1987 to 1992, said he had "no valid evidence" that the mainland had breached the Joint Declaration.
Wallace also revealed that British Prime Minister David Cameron had spoken to Vice-Premier Ma Kai last month and had also discussed Hong Kong's constitutional development with Premier Li Keqiang in June, when the Chinese leader visited London. He said Beijing's white paper on its policy towards Hong Kong had not undermined the city's judicial independence nor breached the Joint Declaration.