Britain denies supporting violent Hong Kong protests | IOL News

LONDON/BEIJING - British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Thursday that he had not backed violent protests in Hong Kong, after Chinese state media blamed "Western ideologues" for fomenting unrest in the former British colony.

China has stepped up a war of words with Britain over Hong Kong, especially after Hunt warned of consequences if China neglects commitments made when it took back Hong Kong to allow its way of life for at least 50 years. "Let me be clear what I said. I said that I condemned, and we as the United Kingdom condemn, all violence and that people who supported the pro-democracy demonstrators would have been very dismayed by the scenes they saw," said Hunt, who is vying to become Britain's next prime minister.

"Hong Kong has an independent judiciary and it's not for me as foreign secretary of the UK to second guess how that judiciary works. What I was saying was that there would be serious consequences if the legally binding international agreement between the UK and China, if that was violated." Speaking at a news briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang did not offer any new criticism about Britain having the day before accused Hunt of being "shameless" for his remarks on Hong Kong.

The Legislative Council Commission is due to hold a closed-door special meeting at an undisclosed venue later on Thursday.

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