SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The search on Wednesday at the offices of Stand News in Hong Kong was “completely legal and beyond reproach,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London said in response to criticism abroad.
British Minister of State for Asia, Amanda Milling, wrote on Twitter that the police raid “(undermines) Hong Kong’s freedom of expression even more”.
“The rights and interests of the people of Hong Kong, including freedom of speech and freedom of the press, are safeguarded in accordance with the law,” the Chinese Embassy in London said Thursday.
“China once again calls on the United Kingdom to right its wrongs and to cease its interference, in any form whatsoever, in the affairs of Hong Kong, which are the internal affairs of China,” added the spokesman.
Two officials of the pro-democracy media Stand News were indicted on Thursday for conspiring to “disseminate and / or reproduce seditious publications”.
(Report David Stanway; French version Camille Raynaud)