‘Media Freedom in Hong Kong’ is held on the sidelines of the UN Human Rights Council meeting
Geneva:
China is urging countries to boycott a British-hosted event at the United Nations in Geneva on media freedom in Hong Kong featuring the son of a jailed media mogul, a letter said and four diplomats confirmed on Tuesday .
Wednesday’s event titled ‘Media Freedom in Hong Kong’ is being held on the sidelines of the five-week meeting of the UN Human Rights Council. Among the speakers is Sebastien Lai, the son of Jimmy Lai who this week marked his 1,000th day in a Hong Kong prison on charges of national security law and sedition in the former British colony.
In a letter widely circulated among diplomats at the UN in Geneva, the Chinese mission asked countries to “refrain from participating in this event in any way.”
“Hong Kong-related issues are Chinese internal affairs that do not tolerate outside interference,” said the diplomatic note reviewed by Reuters.
Four diplomats confirmed they had received it and three of them said Chinese diplomats had also individually contacted some countries not to attend or support the event in any way. The diplomats declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Still, at least 22 countries have co-sponsored the event so far, a document shows, including the United States, France and Germany.
The diplomatic missions of China and Britain in Geneva did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Diplomatic tensions between Chinese authorities and Britain have risen in recent years, with the latter claiming that China’s attempts to assert its authority over the city violate a handover deal that guaranteed broad freedoms. The financial center returned to China from Britain in 1997.
Britain released a report this month saying Hong Kong authorities had expanded the application of a national security law imposed by Beijing “beyond genuine national security concerns.” Jimmy Lai’s trial under the new law has been postponed until December 18 and is expected to last 80 days.
China, one of the 47 members of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council and which is seeking re-election next month, has in the past sought to refute criticism of its human rights record.
Last year it asked then-UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet not to publish a long-awaited report saying China’s arbitrary and discriminatory detention of Uyghurs in Xinjiang could constitute crimes against humanity.
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