On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry accused U.S of influencing the increasingly violent pro-democracy protests that have rocked the Hong Kong for two months. Visibly the protesters have been seen waving the American flags at some of the demonstrations.
The Chinese state media has also run multiple editorials that are meant to blame the United States for the chaos. On Monday, State-run tabloid Global Times also alleged that there had been unprecedented levels of contact between the Hong Kong pro-democracy leaders and the Western governments.
“As you all know, they are somehow the work of the US,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a press conference in Beijing.
Hua added that China would “never allow any foreign forces” to interfere in the semi-autonomous city, and warned that “those who play (with) fire will only get themselves burned.”
These comments by the Chinese media are one of the most direct accusations that Beijing has so far made of US interference in the politics of Hong Kong, and follow the months of speculation inside the China that Western forces have had a hand in that movement.
“It is an open secret in Hong Kong that the forces protesting the extradition bill have been sponsored by the US,” the paper said.
Same level of claims has also been made by North Korea at the US, in an editorial on Friday, that the state-run media Rodong Sinmun claimed that protests were the outcome of a plot hatched by United States and other Western countries.
But, neither country has given any evidence for the truthfulness of its allegations. Hua only made reference to public meetings, between the well-known Hong Kong pro-democracy leaders and US politicians, at the press conferenc,.
US State Department initially called the Beijing’s claims a ridiculous statement, in a statement to CNN.
“It is not credible to think that millions of people are being manipulated to stand for a free and open society,” the statement said.
But later on, the department spokesperson revised the statement, to make it a more diplomatic stance by saying that in updated statement “We categorically reject the charge of foreign forces as being behind the protests”.
