Experts bash violence in Hong Kong, oppose interference in China's affairs

BEIJING, July 5 (Xinhua) -- The recent violent acts in the vicinity of the Legislative Council (LegCo) Complex in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region seriously broke law and social order, experts said, urging Western governments to stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs.

(Photo: China Daily)

Pierre Picquart, a China expert at the University of Paris VIII, said the recent violent act of storming the Legislative Council Complex in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is unacceptable and cannot be condoned.

It violates the principle of "one country, two systems," disrupts social and economic order of Hong Kong, and undermines fundamental interests of Hong Kong residents, said Picquart.

Hong Kong is part of China and no other countries shall interfere in its affairs, Picquart said, adding that the Western media hysteria about the incident exposes their bias.

Adhere Cavince, a Kenyan expert in China-Africa relations, said the violent act blatantly infringed upon Hong Kong's rule of law, and that British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt's recent comment on the act showed a double standard of the West over China-related issues.

Igor Denisov, senior research fellow at the Center for East Asian and Shanghai Cooperation Organization Studies at Moscow State Institute of International Relations, said the violent act in Hong Kong has crossed the red line.

Any interference of other countries in China and a double standard of the incident are not allowed, and incidents of such kind, no matter where they happen, are bound to incur public condemnation and strong reaction from the authorities, said Denisov.

Violence despoils the stability of Hong Kong, putting a crimp on local residents' life and their long-term interests, said Denisov.

The violent act is shocking and a breach of free speech, said Nadia Helmy, a political science professor at Beni-Suef University in Egypt and an expert in Chinese affairs.

If such violence occurs in any Western country, the authorities would take actions against protesters, hence a testimony to the double standard held by Western countries, said Farhat Asif, president of the Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies in Islamabad, Pakistan.

The HKSAR is an exemplar of the practice of "one country, two systems," and Hong Kong, after it returned to China from under British rule, has maintained a boom and piled up global clout, said Selcuk Colakoglu, director of the Turkish Center for Asia Pacific Studies.

However, Colakoglu said, the violent act undermines the principle of peaceful settlement of the disputes, seriously challenges the governance of the HKSAR government, and damages the core interests and welfare of locals.

Any country that sits in judgement over Hong Kong affairs breaches China's sovereign rights and violates the basic principles of international law, said Evandro Carvalho, a professor of international law at Brazil's Getulio Vargas Foundation.

Richardo Chang, a China expert in Mexico, said the thugs are no doubt swayed by external forces and should be punished by law, and that while China supports Hong Kong to safeguard social order and public interests, certain nations and media add fuel to the situation.

The international community should respect China's sovereignty and its policy of "one country, two systems," said Chang.