China on Monday reaffirmed that "no foreign country" should interfere in Hong Kong affairs after Australia reportedly granted protection visas to Hong Kong passport holders.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin urged Australia to stop interfering in China's internal affairs, including Hong Kong's, to "avoid further damage" to bilateral relations.
Fewer than five Hong Kong passport holders had their applications for the refugee and humanitarian permanent visas approved in December 2020, Australian broadcaster Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) said in an exclusive report Monday citing data from the Department of Home Affairs.
It is the first time that Australia granted this type of visas since 2010, said the report.
Also on Hong Kong, Wang hit back at Secretary of State Antony Blinken's tweet calling for the "immediate release" of Hong Kong dissidents, declaring that Hong Kong police were "performing their duties" according to law.
Blinken's tweet came a few hours after the Hong Kong police brought 47 pro-democracy activists to court on charges of conspiracy to commit subversion under the national security law imposed on the city by Beijing last year.
The security law criminalizes acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers to intervene in Hong Kong's affairs. Nearly 100 people have been arrested since the law was implemented.
Separately, Wang said China supports the European Union's call for a meeting between the U.S. and Iran, and other original participants in joint comprehensive nuclear agreement.
"We call on the U.S. and Europe to refrain from confrontational actions at the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to facilitate the early convening of the aforementioned conference," he added.
The Biden administration said Sunday it remains open to talks with Iran over the 2015 nuclear deal despite Tehran's rejection of the EU's invitation to the meeting.
A senior administration official said the U.S. was "disappointed" in the rejection but was flexible as to the timing and format of the talks.
At a daily news briefing, Wang also defended Chinese coast guard vessels' operation off the disputed Diaoyu Islands, known as Senkaku Islands in Japan, as "legitimate and lawful."
He vowed that China will "firmly respond to any provocative and risky acts targeting the Diaoyu Islands."
The remarks came after reports say that the Japanese government considers permitting the country's coast guard to use weapons against foreign vessels that attempt to land on the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
This was prompted by China's newly-enacted maritime law, which allows its coast guard to fire at foreign vessels deemed to trespass into its waters.
Associated Press
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