Still unexplained
The hunt for the origins of Covid-19 has for the past four years been a tangled web of politics, power struggles, and international finger-pointing.
Ahead of the G20 Summit in Japan, hundreds of thousands of protesters held a silent march to 19 consulates in Hong Kong to deliver a letter that urged representatives to put pressure on Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.
“We will urge the countries to pressure China at the G20, to raise concerns over Hong Kong, to defend Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and free trade environment, and to protect the rights of their citizens to do business and to live in Hong Kong,” protesters were quoted as saying by EFE News.
Demonstrators further said that “China wants to avoid Hong Kong issues, and that is why Hong Kong people should seriously call on foreign countries to raise this issue that (Chinese president) Xi Jinping wants to avoid – to force Xi to review the current policy for Hong Kong”.
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Thousands of protesters paralysed central Hong Kong by blocking major roads in a defiant show of strength against government plans to allow extraditions to China early this month.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later said Trump would discuss Hong Kong with Xi at the Group of 20 Summit, which is taking place in Japan’s Osaka on Friday and Saturday.
But Chinese assistant foreign minister Zhang Jun said the G20 is a forum to focus on global economic issues.
Xi and Trump have agreed to hold bilateral talks focusing on the US-China trade war during the summit.
During a press briefing, Zhang Jun said: “I can tell you with certainty that the G20 will not discuss the Hong Kong issue and we will not allow the G20 to discuss the Hong Kong issue while giving a preview about G20 summit.”
Zhang further said that “Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs and no foreign country has the right to intervene,” while recalling that “the city is a special administrative region of China”.
The organizers of the protests will invite various professionals to announce a joint declaration in several languages and will speak about the relationship between Hong Kong and the international community.
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