‘We won’t allow external forces to interfere in Hong Kong and Macau’ – Xi Jinping

Beijing firmly stands against allowing foreign powers to meddle in its regions’ politics, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said after Washington openly sided with the anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.

Xi made his comments on Friday during a trip to Macau, China’s self-governing city on the southern coast.

“I must emphasize, since Hong Kong and Macau’s return to the motherland, dealing with these two Special Administrative Regions’ affairs is entirely China’s internal affairs and none of the business of foreign forces,” he said.

“We do not let any external forces interfere,” Xi stated, warning that Beijing will not tolerate any “finger-pointing” from overseas either.

China has been very vocal about its criticism of the support the protesters in Hong Kong are receiving from some US and European politicians. The rallies, which began in opposition to the now-defunct extradition bill, have since grown into a larger anti-government movement and have spiraled into mass rioting and fierce clashes with police.

Last month, the US adopted a law that allows sanctions to be imposed on officials in Hong Kong and mainland China over their treatment of the protesters. Beijing slammed it as an attempt to meddle in Hong Kong’s internal affairs.

A former Portuguese colony, Macau was returned to China in 1999, two years after Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain. Like Hong Kong, Macau is ruled under the ‘One country, two systems’ principle, in which regions enjoy autonomy in economic and governmental affairs. The city has been developing as a gambling hub and is sometimes referred to as the ‘Asian Las Vegas’.

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