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China said on Friday that the joint declaration with Britain over Hong Kong, which laid the blueprint over how the city would be ruled after its return to China in 1997, was a historical document that no longer had any practical significance.

BEIJING: China said on Friday that the joint declaration with Britain over Hong Kong, which laid the blueprint over how the city would be ruled after its return to China in 1997, was a historical document that no longer had any practical significance.

The stark announcement from the Foreign Ministry, that is sure to raise questions over Beijing's commitment to Hong Kong's core freedoms, came the same day Chinese President Xi Jinping said in Hong Kong the "one country, two systems" formula was recognised "by the whole world".

It also came a day after Britain reaffirmed its commitment to the document. Hong Kong celebrates the 20th anniversary of Chinese rule on Saturday.

It wasn't immediately clear if Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang was attacking just the idea of continued British involvement in Hong Kong, or the principles in the document.

The Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed in 1984 by then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang, laid out how Britain would end its century-and-a-half long rule over Hong Kong. It also guarantees the city's rights and freedoms under the "two systems" formula.

Under Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, Hong Kong was guaranteed its freedoms for "at least 50 years" after 1997.

Lu told reporters during a regular briefing on Friday that the document, which British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson called a "treaty" the day before, no longer binds China.

"Now Hong Kong has returned to the motherland's embrace for 20 years, the Sino-British Joint Declaration, as a historical document, no longer has any practical significance, and it is not at all binding for the central government's management over Hong Kong. The UK has no sovereignty, no power to rule and no power to supervise Hong Kong after the handover," Lu said.

On Thursday, Johnson said in a statement Britain hoped that Hong Kong would make more progress towards democracy.

"Britain’s commitment to Hong Kong – enshrined in the Joint Declaration with China – is just as strong today as it was 20 years ago," Johnson said. </s> A high-speed rail link has been launched in Hong Kong, connecting the territory with mainland China.

The Express Rail Link connects Hong Kong to the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou in 40 minutes - less than half the time taken by older trains.

Chinese authorities will be able to operate at a joint checkpoint at the station, and on the trains.

This is controversial as it marks the first time Chinese criminal law will be enforced in Hong Kong territory.

Critics say this violates Hong Kong's freedoms and mini-constitution.

The rail link was launched at a ceremony on Saturday, with one local lawmaker praising the first bullet train journey to Guangzhou South as "very quiet, like I was on a plane".

Government officials say the rail link will boost businesses in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

The rail link will open to the public on Sunday - and also boost train connections with the rest of mainland China, including the capital Beijing.

However, pro-democracy legislators boycotted the opening ceremony, and staged a protest outside the station, saying the rail link undermines Hong Kong's independent legal system.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed back to China in 1997, under an agreement that the territory would enjoy "a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs", for 50 years.

As a result, Hong Kong has its own laws, protections for certain rights and freedoms, and most mainland Chinese laws cannot be applied in the territory.

The new rail link will mark the first time Chinese officials can enforce Chinese law in Hong Kong, in parts of the station, and on trains.

China's top legislative body has said the arrangement does not undermine Hong Kong's autonomy, and its proponents argue it streamlines the immigration process.

However, legal experts from the Hong Kong Bar Association have criticised the arrangement, saying it contravenes Hong Kong's mini-constitution.

The rail link project has also been criticised for being delayed by three years and going over budget by close to $3bn (£2bn). </s> Washington, Aug 13: Amid massive protests in Hong Kong, US President Donald Trump has tweeted that China is moving troops to the border with Hong Kong.

Trump said that US intelligence has warned that China is moving troops to the border with Hong Kong, amid intensifying anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous financial hub.

"Our Intelligence has informed us that the Chinese Government is moving troops to the Border with Hong Kong. Everyone should be calm and safe!" Trump said in a tweet.

Earlier on Tuesday, Hong Kong's airport authority suspended flights for a second day as protesters staged another rally at the busy international travel hub.

Authorities announced on Monday afternoon the cancellation of all remaining arriving and departing flights from the airport after more than 5,000 black-clad pro-democracy protesters staged a peaceful rally at the building.

The protests intensified after a Chinese official said "terrorism" was emerging in the city, while in Hong Kong authorities demonstrated water cannon for use in crowd control.

Why are people in Hong Kong protesting?

The protests in Hong Kong, which have now intensified into a pro-democracy movement, initially began in June in response to a proposed extradition bill. The bill would have allowed extradition from Hong Kong to mainland China. The proposed extradition bill has now been suspended, but the protests have evolved into a mass political unrest.

Hong Kong was under British rule for a long time and is significantly different from other Chinese cities. Hong Kong was handed over to China by the British in 1997 after 99 year lease ended. Hong Kong enjoys a special status under the principal "one country, two systems" which China and Britain agreed to just a few years before the island city came under Beijing's rule.

Other than foreign and defence affairs, Hong Kong enjoys a high degree of autonomy. Hong Kong has its own legal system and borders, and rights. People of Hong Kong want more autonomy to choose their leader or the chief executive. Hong Kong has a Legislative Council but all the 70 members of this lawmaking body are not elected by the people.The chief executive is elected by a 1,200-member election committee.

People of Hong Kong are demanding democracy as most seats of the Legislative Council that are not directly elected allegedly have pro-China lawmakers. </s> HONG KONG -- Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam sought to quell public anger Saturday by shelving an unpopular extradition bill that has highlighted apprehension about relations with mainland China, but opponents of the measure said it was not enough.

Activists said they were still planning a mass protest for today, a week after hundreds of thousands marched to demand Lam drop the legislation, which many fear would undermine freedoms enjoyed by the former British colony but not elsewhere in China.

The battle over the proposal to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance to allow some suspects to face trial in mainland Chinese courts has evolved into Hong Kong's most severe political test since the Communist Party-ruled mainland took control in 1997 with a promise not to interfere with the city's civil liberties and courts.

Critics said Lam should withdraw the plan for good, resign and apologize for police use of potentially lethal force during clashes with protesters on Wednesday.

"Democrats in Hong Kong simply cannot accept this suspension decision," said lawmaker Claudia Mo. "Because the suspension is temporary. The pain is still there."

The decision was "too little, too late," she said.

"Hong Kong people have been lied to so many times," said Bonny Leung, a leader of the Civil Human Rights Front, one of the groups that has helped organize the demonstrations.

Lam has said the legislation is needed if Hong Kong is. to uphold justice, meet its international obligations and not become a magnet for fugitives. The proposed bill would expand the scope of criminal suspect transfers to include Taiwan, Macau and mainland China.

China has been excluded from Hong Kong's extradition agreements because of concerns over its judicial independence and human rights record.

Speaking to reporters after announcing her decision Saturday, Lam sidestepped questions over whether she should quit. She insisted she was not withdrawing the proposed amendment and defended the police.

But she said she was suspending the bill indefinitely. It was time, she said, "for responsible government to restore as quickly as possible this calmness in society."

"I want to stress that the government is adopting an open mind," she said. "We have no intention to set a deadline for this work."

She emphasized that a chief concern was to avoid further injuries both for the public and for police. About 80 people were hurt in the clashes last week, more than 20 of them police.

"It's possible there might be even worse confrontations that might be replaced by very serious injuries to my police colleagues and the public," she said. "I don't want any of those injuries to happen."

Lam apologized for what she said were failures in her government's work to win public support for the bill, which is opposed by a wide range of sectors in Hong Kong, including many teachers, students, lawyers and trade unions.

But she insisted the bill was still needed.

"Give us another chance," she said.

Beijing-appointed Lam said she had the central government's backing for her decision to yield to the protests. A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said in a statement Saturday that the Chinese government "expresses support, respect and understanding" for Lam's decision.

Many analysts believe that given deep public frustration over expanding control from Beijing under President Xi Jinping, China's strongest leader in decades, Lam might eventually have to abandon the plan altogether.

"If there's more mass action this week that doesn't degenerate into smashing, they will have to," said Ken Courtis, an investment banker who has worked in Hong Kong off and on for many years.

The anger seen in the streets has been directed squarely at Lam and the Hong Kong government, not Beijing, he notes.

"Young people continue to be very dissatisfied," said Courtis, chairman of Starfort Investment Holdings. "The economy's not growing like people thought it would grow."

Lam acknowledged that the government needed to tackle other issues, especially a dire lack of affordable housing. She also cited the economy as a concern.

The extradition bill has drawn criticism from U.S. and British lawmakers and human rights groups, prompting Beijing to lash back with warnings against "interference" in its internal affairs.

But analysts say China also has to weigh the risk of seeing Hong Kong, a vital port and financial center of 7 million people, possibly losing its special economic status.

Under the 1992 U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act, Beijing needs to abide by its "one country, two systems" promises to respect the territory's legal autonomy for 50 years as promised under the agreement signed with Britain for the 1997 handover.

Already, many believe the territory's legal autonomy has been significantly diminished despite Beijing's insistence that it is still honoring those promises. </s> HONG KONG — Pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong are planning a mass protest Sunday even after the territory’s embattled leader Carrie Lam sought to quell public anger by shelving an unpopular extradition bill that has highlighted apprehension about relations with mainland China.

Activists said Lam’s announcement on Saturday is not enough. Over the past week, hundreds of thousands marched to demand Lam drop the legislation, which many fear would undermine freedoms enjoyed by this former British colony but not elsewhere in China.

The battle over the proposal to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance to allow some suspects to face trial in mainland Chinese courts has evolved into Hong Kong’s most severe political test since the Communist Party-ruled mainland took control in 1997 with a promise not to interfere with the city’s civil liberties and courts.

Critics said Lam should withdraw the plan for good, resign and apologize for police use of potentially lethal force during clashes with protesters on Wednesday.

“Democrats in Hong Kong simply cannot accept this suspension decision,” said lawmaker Claudia Mo. “Because the suspension is temporary. The pain is still there.”

The decision was “too little, too late,” she said.

“Hong Kong people have been lied to so many times,” said Bonny Leung, a leader of the Civil Human Rights Front, one of the groups that has helped organize the demonstrations.

Lam has said the legislation is needed if Hong Kong to uphold justice, meet its international obligations and not become a magnet for fugitives. The proposed bill would expand the scope of criminal suspect transfers to include Taiwan, Macau and mainland China.

China has been excluded from Hong Kong’s extradition agreements because of concerns over its judicial independence and human rights record.

Speaking to reporters after announcing her decision Saturday, Lam sidestepped questions over whether she should quit. She insisted she was not withdrawing the proposed amendment and defended the police.

But she said she was suspending the bill indefinitely. It was time, she said, “for responsible government to restore as quickly as possible this calmness in society.”

“I want to stress that the government is adopting an open mind,” she said. “We have no intention to set a deadline for this work.”

She emphasized that a chief concern was to avoid further injuries both for the public and for police. About 80 people were hurt in the clashes earlier in the week, more than 20 of them police.

“It’s possible there might be even worse confrontations that might be replaced by very serious injuries to my police colleagues and the public,” she said. “I don’t want any of those injuries to happen.”

Lam apologized for what she said were failures in her government’s work to win public support for the bill, which is opposed by a wide range of sectors in Hong Kong, including many teachers, students, lawyers and trade unions.

But she insisted the bill was still needed.

“Give us another chance,” she said.

Beijing-appointed Lam said she had the central government’s backing for her decision to yield to the protests. A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said in a statement Saturday that the Chinese government “expresses support, respect and understanding” for Lam’s decision.

Many analysts believe that given deep public frustration over expanding control from Beijing under President Xi Jinping, China’s strongest leader in decades, Lam might eventually have to abandon the plan altogether.

“If there’s more mass action this week that doesn’t degenerate into smashing, they will have to,” said Ken Courtis, an investment banker who has worked in Hong Kong off and on for many years.

The anger seen in the streets has been directed squarely at Lam and the Hong Kong government, not Beijing, he notes.

“Young people continue to be very dissatisfied,” said Courtis, chairman of Starfort Investment Holdings. “The economy’s not growing like people thought it would grow.”

Lam acknowledged that the government needed to tackle other issues, especially a dire lack of affordable housing. She also cited the economy as a concern.

The extradition bill has drawn criticism from U.S. and British lawmakers and human rights groups, prompting Beijing to lash back with warnings against “interference” in its internal affairs.

But analysts say China also has to weigh the risk of seeing Hong Kong, a vital port and financial center of 7 million people, possibly losing its special economic status.

Under the 1992 U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Act, Beijing needs to abide by its “one country, two systems” promises to respect the territory’s legal autonomy for 50 years as promised under the agreement signed with Britain for the 1997 handover.

Already, many here believe the territory’s legal autonomy has been significantly diminished despite Beijing’s insistence that it is still honoring those promises.

Prosecutions of activists, detentions without trial of five Hong Kong book publishers and the illegal seizure in Hong Kong by mainland agents of at least one mainland businessman are among the moves in recent years that have undermined that

In may well be in China’s interest to help Hong Kong’s role as a financial center to grow in importance given the current extreme trade tensions with the U.S.

Much hinges on whether protests persist or again turn violent, Courtis said.

“That is a limit, a brake of common sense of how far Beijing would push these things,” he said. “The last thing Beijing wants, with all this trouble with Washington, is that Hong Kong boils over.”

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Event of the Greens Party in the German Parliament to mark the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre in Berlin

BERLIN (Reuters) - A Hong Kong independence activist said on Tuesday that proposed amendments to the city's legal system that would allow captured fugitives to be sent to China could deal a fatal blow to the territory's judicial independence.

Speaking on the 30th anniversary of China's military crackdown on student-led democracy protests in and around Tiananmen Square, Ray Wong urged democratic countries to up the pressure on the Chinese government to respect human rights.

"This law is the final nail in the coffin," Wong, who was granted refugee status in Germany, told Reuters TV in Berlin. "Because if this law is passed the legal system in Hong Kong will be destroyed. Hong Kong will be just another city in China."

Calls to the Chinese embassy and Hong Kong's Economic and Trade Office in Berlin seeking comment went unanswered.

The legal amendments being pushed by the special administrative region's government mark one of the starkest challenges to Hong Kong's legal system and are increasingly troubling its business, political and diplomatic communities.

The city's independent legal system was guaranteed under the laws governing Hong Kong's return from British to Chinese rule 22 years ago and is seen by the financial hub's business and diplomatic communities as its strongest remaining asset amid encroachments from Beijing. Hong Kong's extensive autonomy is guaranteed until 2047.

Wong spoke to Reuters before a seminar on human rights in China in the Bundestag lower house on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, which was marked with a somber candlelight vigil in Hong Kong attended by tens of thousands.

The proposed changes provide for case-by-case extraditions to countries, including mainland China, beyond the 20 states with which Hong Kong already has treaties.

The amendments allow for the chief executive to both seek the arrest of a fugitive and sign off on their extradition once approved by the courts, including any appeals and judicial reviews.

But they also eliminate the oversight roles of the chief executive's cabinet and the city's legislative body, which can currently step in to evaluate extradition arrangements.

Wong is one of two Hong Kong activists facing rioting charges in Hong Kong who have been granted refugee status by Germany. China's Xinhua state news agency on May 25 said Beijing had made "solemn representations" to Germany over its decision, demanding Berlin correct its "mistakes".

Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam has also expressed "deep regrets and strong objections" to Germany about the case. Hong Kong authorities deny persecuting activists.

Greens parliamentary leader Katrin Goering-Eckardt said German companies doing business in China should become more aware of the country's human rights violations, including the detention of more than 1 million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims in what activists say are mass detention camps.

"German companies are doing business in China very carelessly," she said.

China has faced growing international condemnation for what it calls re-education and training centers in the remote western region of Xinjiang. Some 5,200 German companies are active in China, employing about 1.1 million people, compared with 900 Chinese companies with branches in Europe's largest economy.

"It is our responsibility to ensure that companies that take part in human rights violations and mass surveillance in China are granted no public contracts in Germany," said Goering-Eckardt. "We must sanction human rights violators." </s> Thousands of protesters on Saturday marched through a Hong Kong town to demand action against suspected triad gangs who beat up pro-democracy demonstrators last weekend.

The rally in the New Territories close to the border with mainland China went ahead despite a police ban over concerns about reprisal attacks.

Huge crowds spilled out of the town's main station and into surrounding streets where police maintained a large presence but kept their distance. Many shops were shuttered.

Some protesters chanted anti-police slogans such as "black police" and "know the law, break the law."

Public anger has been raging since last Sunday when a gang of men in white t-shirts, armed with poles and batons, set upon anti-government protesters and bystanders in Yuen Long station. Forty-five people needed hospital treatment.

Protesters say that paid gangs from the local area were responsible for the attacks and accuse the police of not protecting them. Police say they have already made a dozen arrests.

The New Territories is a more rural area of Hong Kong where many of the surrounding villages are known for links to the triad and their staunch support for the pro-Beijing establishment.

Read more: Hong Kong protests: Is the government losing control of law and order?

Saturday's rally marked the eighth consecutive week of protests in the former British colony. The demonstrations first erupted last month in opposition to plans by the local government to allow the extradition of suspected criminals to China.

The mainland's justice system is widely criticized as lacking independence and respect for human rights.

Those marches saw more than a million people take to the streets, prompting the territory's leader, Carrie Lam, to put the proposed bill on hold.

Since then, the movement has grown to include demands for direct elections, the dissolution of the current legislature, an investigation into police brutality and less Chinese interference in Hong Kong affairs.

The movement's leaders have however failed to persuade Beijing or Hong Kong's leaders to change course amid clashes with police and the storming of Hong Kong's parliament in early July by some protesters.

The United Kingdom handed Hong Kong to China in 1997 as part of an agreement that included Beijing's pledge to respect the territory's semi-autonomous status until 2047.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here. </s> Hong Kong, Aug 11 (ANI): China has urged the United Kingdom to stop interfering in its internal matters and making random and inflammatory accusations against Hong Kong, a special administrative region in southern China that was earlier under the British rule till 1997.

"I'd like to point out that Hong Kong today is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. Long gone are the days when it was under British colonial rule," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Saturday.

Spokesperson of the British Foreign Office said that Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had called Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on August 9 and discussed the current turmoil in the region.

Hua was quoted as saying that Britain has no sovereignty, jurisdiction or right of supervision over Hong Kong when asked to comment on the call.

She added that the Chinese government is responsible for the foreign affairs relating to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in accordance with the Basic Law or the Constitution of the region.

"It is simply wrong for the British government to directly call Hong Kong's Chief Executive to exert pressure," she said, urging the UK to stop its interference in China's internal affairs and stop making random and inflammatory accusations on Hong Kong.

The semi-autonomous region has seen eight consecutive weeks of anti-government protests that began against a now-suspended extradition bill, that have since broadened to include calls for democracy and police accountability.

The said extradition bill was proposed on April 3 and its opposers argue that its controversial amendments will leave anyone on Hong Kong soil vulnerable to being grabbed by the Chinese authorities for political reasons or inadvertent business offences.

Multiple protests sometimes violent continue to take place in the semi-autonomous state despite the city's pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam publicly apologising for proposing the controversial legislation and announcing later that the bill was "dead". (ANI) </s> WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump was assailed Tuesday for his hands-off approach to pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, avoiding criticizing Beijing even as Chinese troops massed on the border to the territory.

Critics on both sides of the political spectrum accused Trump of abandoning longstanding US policy to support democratic movements and giving Beijing a green light to intervene in one of the world's most important financial and trade centers, a semi-autonomous Chinese region.

As protestors battled police in Hong Kong's airport Tuesday, partially shutting down air traffic, Trump appeared ambivalent, telling journalists the situation was "very tricky."

"I hope it works out for everybody including China. I hope it works out peacefully, nobody gets hurt, nobody gets killed," he said.

Shortly afterward, Trump tweeted that US intelligence confirmed that Beijing had sent troops to the Hong Kong border.

"Everyone should be calm and safe!" Trump wrote, retweeting a video of People's Liberation Army trucks in the Chinese city of Shenzhen.

But the US leader had no words in support of the protestors as Hong Kong experiences its largest crisis since the British handover of its former colony to China in 1997.

After more than four months of protests, his administration has mainly called for both sides to avoid violence, while denying Beijing's accusations of US interference.

"Trump favors both sides in Hong Kong protests. Hardly a profile in courage," said Nicholas Burns, a former senior US diplomat now at the Harvard University Kennedy School.

"The only side the US should be on is democratic rights for the people of Hong Kong."

The protests, which began in March and have intensified since then, are against a move by the Hong Kong government to allow the extradition of criminal suspects to China, which opponents view as an incursion into Hong Kong's more transparent justice system.

But they have come as Chinese President Xi Jinping's and Trump's governments have plunged ever deeper into a wrenching battle over trade that is dragging down the economies of both, with no sign of a resolution.

In late July Trump praised Xi's approach to the protests, one day after organized triad gangsters attacked protestors, sending 45 to hospitals.

"China could stop them if they wanted," he said.

"I think President Xi of China has acted responsibly, very responsibly," he said.

Days later, he blasted China's trade policies but, regarding the Hong Kong protests, said Beijing "doesn't need advice."

"That's between Hong Kong and ... China, because Hong Kong is a part of China," he said.

Thomas Wright, a foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution, accused Trump of essentially giving Xi "a green light" to intervene in the territory.

In a tweet Wright called it the "Worst foreign policy decision of his presidency."

His stance on Tuesday contrasted with those of top legislators in Congress.

"30 years after Tiananmen Square all Americans stand with the peaceful protesters in Hong Kong. These protests highlight the moral authority of their demands for Freedom and Democracy," he wrote.

Another Republican, Marco Rubio, rejected the view that the protests were an "internal matter" of China's.

"Given their history of repression, Chinese troops massed on border is cause for grave concern," Rubio wrote.

Democrats meanwhile more directly attacked Trump for what one, Representative Jim McGovern, called "dangerous" language that "invites miscalculation."

"Warn Beijing of serious consequences if it cracks down on peaceful protesters," he told Trump.

Senator Chris Murphy said US support for democracy activists in other countries has long been extremely important.

"It's also hard to overstate how devastating it is when they risk it all to speak up for these 'American' values, and America is silent," he wrote on Twitter.

"This is not foreign policy," he said.
China warns the United Kingdom that "no country has the right to intervene on the issue of mass protests in Hong Kong", as it considers the problems of this self-governed city an "internal problem". For China, the agreement by which the United Kingdom returned Hong Kong is nothing more than "a historical document of no practical importance" and "that European country no longer has any responsibility over Hong Kong". The British chancellery, for its part, dismissed the Chinese opinion, and has said that "it is the right and obligation of the United Kingdom to work to enforce the agreement", which, in theory, guarantees a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong for 50 years until 2047 without Chinese interference.