CHINA-HONGKONG: PROTESTS

 British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats and junior partner in Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative-led government, was reported on October 1, 2014 as having said the previous day that he will summon China's Ambassador to London over the protests in Hong Kong. According to a statement from his office, he said "I'll be summoning the Chinese ambassador to express to the ambassador my dismay and alarm. The Chinese authorities in Beijing seem determined to refuse to give to the people of Hong Kong what they are perfectly entitled to expect, which is free, fair, open elections based on universal suffrage, as guaranteed by the joint declaration signed by the Chinese and British governments."

 
 
He added that Britain handed control of Hong Kong to China in 1997 under an agreement that enshrined the "one country, two systems" principle, which was meant to preserve Hong Kong's capitalist system and way of life for a period up to 2047, and that "Universal suffrage means what it says on the tin. It means everybody can vote, and everybody can vote for the candidates they want. Not for candidates that have been screened and pre-selected by the authorities in Beijing. I really do think it's very important at this time ... that we say very loud and clear that we are on their side."
 
 






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