Beijing denounces ‘unreasonable’ US remarks over arrest of veteran Hong Kong journalist, demands end to ‘boring political show’
- Response from Chinese Foreign Ministry follows social media post by US State Department spokesman calling for release of journalist Allan Au
- Ministry spokesman characterises tweet by US official as ‘futile’ political show intended to interfere in nation’s internal affairs
Beijing has denounced Washington’s remarks regarding the arrest of a veteran Hong Kong journalist for allegedly conspiring to publish seditious materials, referring to such messages from foreign critics as “unreasonable, boring political shows”.
The statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Hong Kong office on Tuesday was in response to a tweet from US State Department spokesman Ned Price, who urged local authorities to release journalist Allan Au Ka-lun and everyone else “imprisoned for exercising their fundamental freedoms”.
Au, 54, who also works as a consultant for Chinese University’s journalism school, was released on bail on Monday night following his arrest earlier that day. The police operation was reportedly linked to a column he had written for the now-defunct online outlet Stand News.
The news outlet dismissed all its staff and shut down in December after seven people linked to Stand News were arrested for publishing allegedly seditious material.
Defending Au’s arrest by national security police, a spokesman for the ministry’s local office characterised Price’s tweet as a “futile”, “crowd-pleasing” political show that aimed to intervene in the nation’s internal affairs.
“Certain politicians and organisations have claimed they cared about the ‘press freedom’ of other places, but frequently shut down news websites in their own country and obstruct journalists from taking part in their government’s public events,” the spokesman said.