WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Thursday condemned China’s moves to change Hong Kong’s electoral system, calling it a continuing assault on democracy in the territory.
“The changes approved by the National People’s Congress today on March 11 are a direct attack on Hong Kong’s autonomy, its freedoms and democratic processes, limiting political participation, reducing democratic representation and stifling political debate,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told a news briefing.
China’s parliament approved a draft decision to change Hong Kong’s electoral system on Thursday, further reducing democratic representation in the city’s institutions and introducing a mechanism to vet politicians’ loyalty to Beijing.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Lewis, Daphne Psaledakis and David Brunnstrom; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
