China has expressed strong opposition to the "irresponsible remarks" recently made by British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Hong Kong affairs.
Truss on Thursday expressed concern over the disqualification of "democratically-elected" Hong Kong district councillors, whose oaths of allegiance to the government were considered invalid.
"It is deeply concerning that 55 District Councillors have been disqualified and over 250 pressured to resign for political reasons - the first time that such action has been taken against democratically elected District Councillors in the Hong Kong SAR (Special Administrative Region)," Truss had said in a statement.
In response to the UK Foreign Secretary's remarks, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Britain said these measures have won the full recognition and support of Hong Kong residents and the international community.
Since China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, Hong Kong affairs have been purely China's internal affairs and brook no external interference, the Chinese spokesperson added.
UK Foreign Secretary had also urged Hong Kong authorities to "uphold freedom of speech and allow the public a genuine choice of political representatives." "This comes as trade unions, interest groups and NGOs have been forced to disband. The Hong Kong SAR Government must uphold freedom of speech and allow the public a genuine choice of political representatives."
After passing the national security law in June, last year, the government of the Special Administrative Region in Hong Kong had asked all civil servants to take mandatory oaths of allegiance.
They later extended the order to all local-level representatives.
( With inputs from ANI )
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