Beijing’s new chief diplomat in Hong Kong says battle against ‘foreign forces’ his top priority, dubs 2019 protests a ‘colour revolution’
- Meddling by ‘forces trying to seize power and seek subversion’ at core of issues facing city, Liu Guangyuan says at first press briefing
- Office will also help residents grasp opportunities presented by the Belt and Road Initiative and Greater Bay Area plan, he pledges
Beijing’s new top diplomat in Hong Kong has promised to make a more robust opposition to perceived external interference his top priority, saying it was his office’s job to establish and guard the city’s “defensive lines”.
Liu Guangyuan, head of the Chinese foreign ministry’s Hong Kong office, made the pledge at a briefing with a group of largely state-owned media outlets on Wednesday, a day after he met with Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and pledged to work with her to safeguard China’s sovereignty and security.
“At the core of the Hong Kong issue is a battle against forces trying to seize power and seek subversion and infiltration,” he said. “Facts have proven that their attempt to curb China’s development by exploiting Hong Kong-related issues is a pure miscalculation.”
Liu also accused foreign forces of adopting a “Cold War mentality” in trampling on the norms of international law by meddling with Chinese and Hong Kong affairs.
“[They] make use of human rights, democracy and freedoms as pretexts to interfere with Hong Kong affairs, to maliciously slander the central government’s policies on Hong Kong, endorse anti-China elements, and even go as far as to impose various sanctions,” Liu said at his maiden press gathering.
Liu said foreign forces had “knocked at the wrong door and made a wrong decision”, reiterating that no external interference could sway China’s determination to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, or its commitment to fully and faithfully implementing the “one country, two systems” policy.
