Hong Kong protest: China will 'not sit by and watch' if situation deteriorates further

Ambassador to UK accuses ‘foreign forces’ of interfering and inciting demonstrations

China’s ambassador to the UK has warned that it “will not sit on its hands and watch” if the situation in Hong Kong deteriorates further after two months of street protests.

“We have enough solutions and enough power within the limit of the basic law to quell any unrest swiftly,” Liu Xiaoming told reporters at a press conference in London.

It follows reports that China’s People’s Armed Police are conducting exercises at a sports stadium in Shenzhen, near the border with the former British colony.

The ambassador also appeared to accuse the UK and other countries of encouraging the demonstrations, which began in opposition to a proposed extradition bill before growing into wider pro-democracy protests.

“Foreign forces must stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs,” said Mr Liu. “Evidence shows the situation would not have deteriorated so much had it not been for the interference and incitement of foreign forces.

“Hong Kong is part of China. No foreign country should interfere in Hong Kong’s internal affairs.”

Earlier this week activists occupied Hong Kong’s international airport, prompting the cancellation of all flights for two days running.

Many of the demonstrators chose to highlight alleged police brutality after a woman was shot in the face with a bean-bag round by police and suffered a ruptured eyeball.

China responded by condemning attacks on a Chinese journalist and a police officer who was beaten with his own truncheon during the airport protest.

Downing Street has called for “calm on all sides”, while foreign secretary Dominic Raab said the government encouraged “constructive dialogue to find a peaceful way forward”.

However Mr Liu questioned the UK’s stance, saying that the protesters were showing “signs of terrorism” and must face justice “no matter who they are and however they hard they try and whitewash their actions”.

He added: “Would the UK allow extremists to storm the Palace of Westminster and damage its facilities and get away with it?

“Would the UK give permission for attacking police officers with lethal weapons or set fire to police stations without any punishment?

“Would the UK allow so-called pro-democracy rioters to occupy the airport, obstruct traffic, disturb social order or threaten the safety and people’s life and property? Aren’t all these regarded as crimes in the UK?”

Mr Liu also dismissed a proposal by Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, to extend UK citizenship rights to Hong Kong Chinese.

“I think some of them still regard Hong Kong as part of British empire and they treat Hong Kong as part of the UK,” he added.

Additional reporting by Associated Press and Reuters