BEIJING, Sept 6, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said
Friday the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong “must be guaranteed”
after meeting with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, her spokesman said.
Hong Kong has been plunged into months of pro-democracy protests, and
ahead of her three-day visit to China this week protestors in the semi-
autonomous city appealed to the German chancellor to support them in her
meetings with China’s leadership.
In a tweet Friday, spokesman Steffen Seibert quoted Merkel as saying: “The
rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong must be guaranteed. Solutions
can only be found in dialogue; do everything possible to prevent violence”.
Merkel arrived in China on Thursday with a large business delegation in
tow.
Press access to her visit was unusually tight, with a number of members of
the Beijing foreign press corps, including AFP, unable to get accreditations
for the event. Chinese officials cited a lack of space due to a large
contingent of journalists accompanying Merkel.
Prominent movement leader Joshua Wong and others recalled in an open
letter published by top-selling Bild daily Wednesday that Merkel grew up in
the communist police state of East Germany.
“You have first-hand experience of the terrors of a dictatorial
government,” the letter read.
They also warned that “Germany should be on its guard before doing
business with China, as China does not comply with international law and has
repeatedly broken its promises”.
Hong Kong has endured dozens of sometimes violent pro-democracy protests
triggered by opposition to a now-withdrawn law that would have allowed
extradition to mainland China.
A number of Chinese dissidents have been given refuge in Germany,
including dissident-artist Ai Weiwei.