UK Says Mainland Media Misrepresents Its HK Stance

The British embassy in Beijing has put out a response to a number of articles published by mainland media organisations, including Xinhua and CCTV, that it says contain errors and inaccurate information in relation to the UK's stance on Hong Kong.

Quoting a remark in a CCTV commentary that accused the West of not criticising the US over brutality, the embassy said the UK had always supported peaceful protests but found violence unacceptable - and that its position was the same on both the Hong Kong protests and those in support of Black Lives Matter. In support of its claim, it posted a tweet from its Washington embassy saying it was saddened by what was going on in the US. The tweet also said racial inequality was something "we all need to tackle" and that peaceful protests were an important part of a free society.

The UK, though, said Chinese citizens might sometimes be unable to see where the UK raises its concerns because of the Great Firewall.

The embassy in Beijing also rejected Xinhua's remark that Hong Kong affairs were an internal Chinese matter, citing the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration that it says remains in force today and is registered with the United Nations.

The UK said it rejected Hong Kong independence, a claim made in The Paper on June 6, and that Britain wanted to uphold One Country, Two Systems.

On the national security law, the embassy said there was no legal basis for it as it was contrary to the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, countering an article it said was published by BJ News on May 28.