BEIJING: Chinese officials and experts have urged politicians in the United States to stop using the situation in Hong Kong as a bargaining chip for negotiations or as leverage for fuelling competition with Beijing.
Stating that the Chinese government will not accept any bargain on the issue, they hoped that US’s law-makers would keep in view the ground realities, as millions of HK’s residents fully stand by the local administration in the prevailing situation.
Senior politicians such as US Vice-President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have spoken out on or pushed legislation concerning the recent violent protests in the city. According to a report published by China Economic Net on Wednesday, Mike Pence angered China by telling the Detroit Economic Club that "for the United States to make a deal with China", Beijing needs to "respect the integrity of Hong Kong's laws".
"Our administration will continue to urge Beijing to act in a humanitarian manner," Pence added. In response, the Foreign Ministry's Commissioner's Office in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said that China resolutely opposes any country attempting to "take Hong Kong's stability and prosperity as well as the well-being of more than 7 million Hong Kong residents as a bargaining chip".
"Do not daydream about China making a deal using its territorial sovereignty and national reunification," an unnamed spokesperson said in a statement, calling for a halt to intervention in China's domestic affairs, including Hong Kong affairs.
On Aug 6, Pelosi said in a written statement that "the extraordinary outpouring of courage from the people of Hong Kong stands in stark contrast to a cowardly government", and she reiterated her call for suspending "future sales of munitions and crowd control equipment to the Hong Kong police force".