NZ joined its allies in condemning new rules to disqualify elected legislators in Hong Kong, just days after signing the Regional Comprehensive and Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade and investment pact, spearheaded by China.
“The disqualification rules appear part of a concerted campaign to silence all critical voices,” the alliance said in a joint statement.
“We call on China to stop undermining the rights of the people of Hong Kong to elect their representatives in keeping with the Joint Declaration and Basic Law and we urge the Chinese central authorities to reconsider their actions.”
Hong Kong last week expelled four opposition members from its legislature after Beijing gave city authorities new powers to curb dissent.
China was quick to respond.
“No matter how many ‘eyes’ you have, be careful not to be poked and get blind by harming China’s sovereignty, security and development interests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a news conference on Thursday, the state-owned Global Times reported.
Separately, state-owned Xinhua quoted Zhao as saying “we deplore and firmly oppose relevant country’s finger-pointing over China’s Hong Kong affairs, which is a flagrant violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations.”
China accounts for about 20% of NZ’s goods exports – twice that to Australia – and any political tensions raise the prospect of trade retaliation, especially for dairy exporters.
NZ exports into China are already facing some headwinds after Jinan city authorities in China confirmed a sample taken from packaging on a shipment of NZ tripe tested positive for covid-19 genetic material, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
–BusinessDesk
