Starmer criticised for meeting China’s Xi as Hong Kong freedom protesters were being jailed

Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for gathering China’s president Xi Jinping conscionable hours earlier 45 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were sentenced for attempting to tract absorption candidates successful an election.

Among those sentenced were Benny Tai, who was jailed for 10 years and Joshua Wong, sentenced to 4 years, for “subversion” aft being progressive successful the “Hong Kong 47” radical of activists and lawmakers.

The imprisonments were the largest usage of the authoritarian National Security Law brought successful to clamp down connected ideology successful Hong Kong successful 2019.

Speaking connected BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, erstwhile seat of the Democratic Party successful Hong Kong, Emily Lau, suggested Sir Keir’s gathering with Xi astatine the G20 a specified hours earlier the sentencing meant the UK’s agreements with China implicit the governance of the territory earlier its handover successful 1997 were “evaporating”.

Ms Lau said she “not surprised” by the sentences.

“We are precise distressed and their families of people are devastated,” she said.

“We hoped that possibly Hong Kong was acceptable to crook a caller page....but alas we had the sentencing this morning. We are precise distressed.”

Taking purpose astatine the premier minister: “Of people yesterday I saw connected tv the British premier minister, Sir Keir Starmer, was gathering Chinese president Xi Jinping successful Rio astatine the G20 meeting.

“I don’t know. I’m not against radical making wealth but I surely anticipation that the British government, the premier minister, volition basal up for the rights that they promised Hong Kong radical successful the 1984 Sino-British associated declaration.

“It seems each these rights, regularisation of instrumentality and each that are evaporating.”

Downing Street said that the premier curate raised the lawsuit of different jailed pro-democracy activistic Jimmy Lai successful a landmark gathering with Xi Jinping connected Monday, signalling helium is prepared to situation China implicit quality rights abuses.

However, the gathering astatine the G20 was expected to people a “pragamatic” attack to China which is the 2nd largest system successful the satellite successful an effort to physique trade.

The premier curate adjacent discussed a sojourn to Beijing oregon Xi to travel to London.

Sir Keir was the archetypal British premier curate to conscionable the Chinese president since David Cameron 8 years ago.

The premier curate said helium wanted to prosecute with China “honestly and frankly connected those areas wherever we person antithetic perspectives”, arsenic good arsenic signalling a tendency for greater concern co-operation.

He said a beardown UK-China narration is “important for some of our countries” and the planetary community, proposing a afloat UK-China gathering successful London oregon Beijing.

Foreign caput David Lammy visited China successful October and pledged that the authorities would bring consistency to the UK’s relations with the country, arsenic good arsenic suggesting that determination had not been capable interaction betwixt London and Beijing nether his predecessors, peculiarly connected quality rights issues.