The Chinese government has berated Britain and the United States accusing them of ‘malicious intentions’ after they condemned Hong Kong police for offering bounties for information leading to the capture of five overseas activists.
The city’s authorities had yesterday stated that the wanted individuals would be pursued “till the end” as they offered HK$1,000,000 ($128,000) bounties for help catching them.
The move was strongly condemned by Washington, while London called it “a threat to our democracy and fundamental human rights”.
However China said on Saturday morning that the Hong Kong police force’s desire to arrest the activists was “necessary and legitimate” on national security grounds and was in line with international law.
“The national security laws of other countries, including the United States and Britain, also have extraterritorial effects,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning at a regular press briefing.
Read Also: Mourners In China Use AI To Digitally Resurrect Dead
“By cheering on these anti-China individuals that are bringing havoc to Hong Kong, the United States and Britain are exposing their malicious intentions in messing up Hong Kong,” Mao added.
Hong Kong authorities said the five were suspected of incitement to secession, incitement to subversion, and foreign collusion — crimes that can carry sentences of up to life in prison.
In another report, the leadership in Beijing has acknowledged that China is currently grappling with ‘difficulties and challenges’ in its economic recovery.
State media highlighted on Tuesday that the world’s second-largest economy is undergoing a recovery from the pandemic, marked by uneven progress.
Beijing’s central decision-makers gathered for the annual closed-door meeting, the Central Economic Work Conference, amidst China’s economic challenges, such as decreasing consumer demand and a property sector debt crisis.
‘China still has to overcome some difficulties and challenges to further revive the economy,’ top leaders, including President Xi Jinping, noted at the meeting, state news agency Xinhua reported.
At the Monday to Tuesday meeting, top officials ‘decided priorities for the economic work in 2024’ and Xi gave a speech, Xinhua said.