China Urges Foreign Missions to Respect Sovereignty After Lai Verdict

China’s foreign ministry commissioner’s office in Hong Kong announced on Saturday, 14 February, that it had summoned the heads of the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, and European Union missions over negative comments made by their officials regarding the sentencing of Jimmy Lai.

The office expressed “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition,” urging the governments to respect China’s sovereignty and Hong Kong’s rule of law, refrain from making “irresponsible” remarks on national security cases, and stop interfering in Hong Kong and China’s internal affairs.

Earlier in February, a Hong Kong court sentenced Lai, a prominent critic of China and former media tycoon, to 20 years in prison in a landmark foreign-collusion case under the city’s national security law.

#China #HongKong #JimmyLai #NationalSecurityLaw #UK #US #Australia #EU #DiplomaticTensions #diplomatsWorld #diplomatsworld