On July 16, Ambassador Liu Xiaoming took questions on Hong Kong issue during a video interview with Catherine Philp from The Times. He stated that it’s very dangerous for the UK to challenge China’s sovereignty and support the anti-China forces seeking to disrupt Hong Kong.

Ambassador Liu pointed out, it is a wrong decision made by the UK to grant citizenship to BNO passport holders as a reaction to the National Security Law for Hong Kong SAR. It is a total misreading and misinterpretation of the National Security Law. Hong Kong has to enact laws, in accordance with Article 23 of Basic Law, to punish or suppress crimes that endanger national security. But unfortunately, because of the scaremongering of some opposition leaders and some troublemakers, this law has not been enacted. The National Security Law is for the purpose of plugging loopholes of the legal system in Hong Kong with regard to national security risk.

“Hong Kong is part of China. It's our special administrative region. Hong Kong was plunged into chaos last year. Any responsible government will take measures to address this situation,” said the Ambassador. This Law is about restoring order and responding to the outcry of the Hong Kong for chaos to be stopped. The UK’s measures concerning BNO policy will cause disruptions in the situation in Hong Kong. This is not a contribution to prosperity or stability in Hong Kong. It will do just the opposite.

“The UK committed that they would not give right of abode to BNO holders. But now they have completely changed their position. On the one hand, they criticize China for violating China’s commitment -- and it’s a false accusation against China. On the other hand, they want to walk away from their commitment in the MOU exchanged between the two sides,” noted the Ambassador.

In reply to a question about the so-called “Hong Kong parliament in exile”, Ambassador Liu said, the aim of those people is to separate China and make Hong Kong independent. This is a completely anti-China organization with the purpose of sabotaging “One Country, Two Systems”. They try to make use of “Two Systems” to erode “One Country”, to achieve their purpose of undermining China and undermining “One Country”.

“If the UK permits them to set up this so-called ‘parliament in exile’, the UK would violate its commitment to abiding by the basic norms governing international relations, i.e. to respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. That will be another serious problem between China and the UK,” said the Ambassador.

Ambassador Liu said seriously that if the UK challenges China’s sovereignty and supports anti-China forces, China will certainly make resolute demarche.