Angela Merkel urges China to protect rights and freedoms of people of Hong Kong

German chancellor Angela Merkel has called on China to protect the “rights and freedoms” of the people of Hong Kong and warned against any violent crackdown on protesters to end months of unrest. Speaking alongside Chinese premier Li Keqiang, Ms Merkel said the principle of “one country — two systems” must continue to apply, as should the Basic Law, the mini-constitution that grants Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy from Beijing.

She said the “rights and freedoms” set out in the Basic Law “must be safeguarded”, and that authorities must do “everything possible to avoid violence”.

“The solutions can only be political,” she said, and called on the protesters to enter a dialogue with the Hong Kong authorities. In the first comments on the three months of protests by a high-ranking Chinese official, Mr Li told reporters that Beijing supported the Hong Kong government’s legal efforts “to restore public order and end the chaos and . . . disorder”.

via Financial Times