The flags of China and Hong Kong are arranged in rows.
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Chinese embassy hits back Criticism Against U.S. Hong Kong’s new national security law on Thursday said the United States should “respect China’s sovereignty.”
Members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed a new national security law Critics say Tuesday’s meeting gives the government more power to suppress dissent.
The law provides for severe penalties for a range of acts, including “treason” and “rebellion”, with penalties of up to life imprisonment.
Following the announcement, the U.S. State Department described the threats outlined in the law as “ill-defined and extremely vague.”
“We believe such actions have the potential to accelerate the closure of Hong Kong’s once open society,” spokesman Vedant Patel said.
The Chinese Embassy in the United States responded that other countries should not interfere in China’s affairs.
Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong. Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs. No country has the right to dictate or interfere. a spokesman said on wednesday.
We urge the United States to respect China’s sovereignty, abide by the principles of international law and the basic norms of international relations, and immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs.
Hong Kong’s Legislative Council introduced a bill called “Article 23” on March 8, with Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu urging its passage “as soon as possible” amid an “increasingly complex” geopolitical context.
Earlier this month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the United States had been coming up with “new ways to suppress China” and that its accusations against Beijing had reached “unbelievable levels.”
He said: “China-U.S. bilateral relations have made some progress, but we must point out that the United States still adheres to its wrong understanding of China.”
—CNBC’s Evelyn Cheng and Clement Tan contributed to this article.
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