No agreement with China

Berlin (dpa) – Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas has called for the security law for Hong Kong to be withdrawn and for parliamentary elections to be held as quickly as possible in the Chinese Special Administrative Region. «We want the principle of "one country, two systems" to be fully applied», he said on Tuesday following talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Berlin.

Wang refused to allow any intervention in internal Chinese affairs – also with respect to the way the country deals with the Uighur Muslim minority in the province of Xinjiang. «No matter whether it is Hong Kong or Xinjiang: both fall into the category of internal Chinese affairs», he said, according to the official translation. «We want no foreign intervention in Chinese society.»

Maas also rejected the Chinese threats directed at Czech parliamentarian Milos Vystrcil because of his visit to Taiwan. As the foreign minister explained, the EU stands «shoulder to shoulder» in the area of foreign policy and treats its partners with respect. «We expect exactly the same in return. And threats have no place there.»

Wang reasserted his criticism of the Taiwan visit and talked of a «public affront» and the crossing of a red line. China views the democratic state of Taiwan, which split from the mainland in 1949, as a renegade province rather than an independent state, and attempts to isolate it internationally.