After days of protests, the Hong Kong government suspended a proposed extradition bill on the weekend — a move that surprised some China watchers.
The proposed legislation would have allowed fugitives to be handed over to Beijing, fueling concerns that Hong Kong's legal system may be compromised by closer judicial ties with China.
"Anything regarding Hong Kong ... is a domestic affair," said Chinese foreign affairs spokesperson Lu Kang on Monday during a regular press conference. He said in Chinese that it was "not an issue to be responded by the foreign affairs ministry," according to a CNBC translation. "Accountable to both Beijing and the people of Hong Kong, chief executives have prioritized the need to keep the central government happy, but this has stoked political instability in the territory. In the long term, that dynamic is likely to continue unless there is political liberalization on the mainland," he added.
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