Beijing slams G7 for ‘slandering and defaming’ Hong Kong police over bounties

Beijing has slammed the G7 for “blatantly slandering and defaming” Hong Kong police’s law enforcement actions after the group condemned a recent round of bounties and arrest warrants on overseas activists.

In a strongly worded statement on Saturday, the foreign ministry’s arm in Hong Kong expressed its firm opposition to the Group of Seven’s remarks the previous day.

The statement said the G7 was “blatantly slandering and defaming Hong Kong police’s law enforcement actions”, and urged it to immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and the country’s internal affairs.

“The West’s accusations of ‘transnational repression’ against [Hong Kong] police are pure nonsense,” a spokesman for the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong said.

“The extraterritorial effect of Hong Kong’s national security law is fully in line with the principles of international law, international practice and common practices in various countries and regions.”

The G7, which consists of the seven major advanced economies, on Friday condemned the new HK$200,000 (US$25,640) bounties placed by city authorities on 15 overseas activists for their involvement in the “Hong Kong Parliament” group, which police deem subversive and accuse of violating the Beijing-imposed security law.