China warns U.S. not to intervene in ‘illegal’ Hong Kong protests

China issued a blunt warning to the United States that any intervention to support pro-democracy supporters in the streets of Hong Kong would be regarded as aid and comfort for “illegal acts” and would not be tolerated.

“The Chinese government has very firmly and clearly stated its position,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, according to Agence France-Presse. “Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs. All countries should respect China’s sovereignty and this is a basic principle of governing international relations.”

Washington has called on authorities to tread lightly in their treatment of Hong Kong protesters. But Mr. Wang said that the United States should tend to its own business and let China do similarly.

“I believe for any country, for any society, no one would allow those illegal acts that violate public order,” he said, AFP reported. “That’s the situation in the United States and that’s the same situation in Hong Kong.”

Mr. Kerry said he has “high hopes that the Hong Kong authorities will exercise restrain and respect the protesters’ right to express their views peacefully.”