Policemen in riot gear arrive after residents and protesters gather outside a police station in Hong Kong on Wednesday. | Vincent Thian/AP Photo south china morning post China’s envoys try to rally Europe to Beijing’s side on Hong Kong protests Ambassadors to Britain, the Netherlands and Spain call for condemnation of violence in the city.

This story is being published for POLITICO as part of a content partnership with the South China Morning Post. It originally appeared on scmp.com on August 7, 2019.

China is stepping up its attempts to rally global support for its handling of protests in Hong Kong, with its ambassadors in Europe calling for condemnation of the violence in the city.


In a series of statements, Chinese envoys to Britain, the Netherlands and Spain have added their voices to a global campaign to promote Beijing’s line on the demonstrations.

At an address on Tuesday at the London embassy to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic, Liu Xiaoming, China’s ambassador to Britain, said ending violence in Hong Kong was a “top priority” for the city.

Liu underlined Beijing’s support for Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and the city’s police force.

He also praised members of the Chinese community in Britain who petitioned British politicians and raised public awareness "to deplore violence and oppose foreign interference" in Hong Kong.

"You have demonstrated a strong sense of justice and responsibility and you have lived up to the Chinese national spirit," he said.

"I would like to reiterate that the top priority for Hong Kong now is to end violence, bring violent offenders to justice and restore order."

Several British politicians have spoken out about the protests, including former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt who warned China in June of consequences if the right to protest was neglected in Hong Kong.

And last week, after a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Thailand, Hunt’s successor, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, said "peaceful protest is a basic right and should be respected."

In the Netherlands, Chinese ambassador Xu Hong defended the efforts of Hong Kong’s leaders to pass a now-shelved extradition bill that would have allowed the city to send suspects to other jurisdictions, including mainland China.

In an article published in Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad on Wednesday, Xu criticized "the United States and other countries" for failing to denounce violent protesters, and for "supporting troublemakers, [which] fuels the deterioration of the situation."

And in Spain, Chinese ambassador Lyu Fan took aim at Britain, saying "Hong Kong is no longer a colony under the orders of British politicians."

In an opinion piece published last month in Spanish newspaper ABC, Lu said that under "one country, two systems," Hongkongers had a range of freedoms, including freedom of the press and speech and the right to strike.

The latest comments followed strikes and demonstrations in Hong Kong on Monday, calling for the city’s legislature to scrap the extradition bill completely and launch an independent investigation into police violence against protesters.

The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions estimated that around 350,000 workers took part in the strikes.

China has used various tactics to try to drum up international support for its position on the protests. Last week state news agency Xinhua published a series of interviews with "foreign experts" critical of "irresponsible remarks" made by other countries about Hong Kong.

The analysts from various countries, including Kenya, Mexico and Afghanistan, supported Beijing’s theory that violence was the result of "foreign forces" trying to undermine China’s sovereignty.

