FM urges fair stand from outside parties

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that relevant parties should adopt an objective and fair position on the situation in Hong Kong, and understand and support the special administrative region's efforts to end violence and chaos.

He made the comment during the Ninth Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting of China, the Republic of Korea and Japan.

In response to inquiries from ROK Foreign Minister Kang Kyungwha and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, Wang explained the current situation in Hong Kong and said that foreign forces were playing a hand in the unrest.

A small number of violent radicals have challenged laws by storming the Legislative Council and injuring the police, trampling on the bottom line of morality by blocking and beating innocent people and restricting the personal freedom of reporters and passengers from the Chinese mainland, Wang added.

They challenged the "one country, two systems" policy by swaggering through the streets with foreign national flags and defacing the Chinese national flag and emblem, he said.

Wang said any responsible government and society ruled by law will by no means tolerate such acts, and added that Hong Kong's affairs are China's domestic affairs and the intervention of foreign forces is not allowed. The central government firmly supports the SAR government in administering Hong Kong, the Hong Kong police in strictly enforcing law and the SAR judiciary in punishing violent criminals according to the law, he said.

China understands that some countries are concerned over the safety of their companies and citizens in Hong Kong due to the violent behavior by some radicals, Wang said, adding that China believes that their interests will be protected by the SAR government in accordance with the law.

Beijing confirmed on Wednesday that an employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong was detained for violating the law.

Police in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, imposed a penalty of a 15-day administrative detention on the employee for violating China's Public Security Administration Punishment Law, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang quoted sources as saying.

Regarding Britain's concerns over the detention, Geng said the incident is purely China's domestic affairs since the man is not a British citizen but a Hong Kong resident.