Canada told not to meddle in HK affairs

Ottawa should abide by law and norms that govern international relations, China says

China has voiced strong protest over Canada "pointing fingers at Hong Kong affairs" after the Northern American country's senior politicians recently made outspoken remarks on unrest in the city on multiple occasions.

On Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Commissioner's Office in Hong Kong urged the Canadian government and politicians to "stop trying anxiously to highlight their presence by interfering in Hong Kong affairs".

Speaking to an audience in Montreal on Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau repeated his call for restraint and respect for human rights as protests sweep Hong Kong, Reuters reported.

Trudeau "has been among the most outspoken" on the protests, the Associated Press commented on Thursday, stating that Trudeau had said the 300,000 Canadians in Hong Kong represent the region's largest contingent of foreigners.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland drew criticism from Beijing earlier this week after she issued a statement on Hong Kong on Aug 17, her third since May this year, in which she said Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy "must continue to be upheld".

In response, the Commissioner's Office urged Canada and the Canadian politicians to "know their place, realize their mistakes and abide by international law and norms that govern international relations".

The remarks by Canadian politicians "have confounded violent crime with peaceful rallies and ignored the Hong Kong police's efforts to punish violence according to law," an unnamed spokesperson for the office said in a statement.

"The remarks have failed to distinguish between right and wrong, and run counter to the shared aspirations of Hong Kong citizens to stop violence, end the chaos and restore order. They are essentially aimed to endorse and embolden the violent offenders," the spokesperson added.

Canada's ties with China suffered great strain after the country detained Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, in December.

Trudeau said on Wednesday that his country will not "back down "despite Canada's strained trade and diplomatic ties with China.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Thursday that it is totally Ottawa's responsibility for the serious difficulty the China-Canada ties have encountered, and it knows clearly where the crux of the problem lies.

Yuan Zheng, a senior researcher on US foreign policy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the recent comments made by senior Canadian politicians "show that they are striking a balance between political pressures faced by Trudeau's administration and the improvement of ties with China".

Canada has long been proactive in promoting human rights on the global stage, it is very image-conscious, Yuan said.

Although it seeks to repair ties with China, "it does not necessarily mean that it will downplay or refrain from its own policy pursuits on topics such as Hong Kong", Yuan said.