Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on August 20, 2019 |
2019-08-20 23:32 |
Q: On Monday, Twitter and Facebook announced they had suspended many accounts that they alleged were state-backed and spreading "disinformation". What's your comment? A: I'm not aware of the specifics you mentioned. But I believe you know the attitude of the 1.4 billion Chinese on the situation in Hong Kong. You may also know clearly the attitude of overseas Chinese, including Chinese students, through media reports. I believe they have the rights to express their opinions and viewpoints. Q: The British government says it's extremely concerned about reports that an employee of the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong has disappeared when on a visit to Shenzhen and possibly been detained. Do you have any information on this employee? A: I'm not aware of what you said. Q: There have been reports on casualties in a serious accident of a bus carrying over 40 Chinese tourists in Laos yesterday afternoon. Could you give us more details? How is the rescue work going? A: As far as we learn, on the afternoon of August 19, a serious accident occurred to a tourist bus carrying Chinese visitors some 40 kilometers away from Luang Prabang. There were 46 aboard, including 44 Chinese and two Lao nationals. By 1 p.m. August 20 Beijing time, among the 44 Chinese, 13 were killed and 31 were injured. All the injured have been transferred to Luang Prabang, some settled in hotels and some treated in the hospital. Two of them were severely injured and are still in critical conditions. The two Lao nationals suffered minor injuries. The cause of the accident is still under investigation. Upon learning the accident, the Chinese Embassy in Laos and the Consulate-General in Luang Prabang immediately activated an emergency response mechanism. They coordinated with the Lao army and police as well as local rescue teams and mobilized Chinese enterprises and consular assistance volunteers to help. The Consul-General led a team to the site overnight. A PLA medical team was participating in the "Peace Train-2019" China-Laos humanitarian and medical joint rescue exercise in Laos around that time. On the early morning of August 20, it sent out doctors needed for emergency rescue to join Lao army medical staff to treat the wounded and help with relevant work. Currently intense rescue efforts are still going on. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese Embassy and the Consulate-General in Laos will follow up with more updates. Q: A series of demonstrations and marches were reported in Moscow recently. The US embassy in Russia said in a statement on its website that the Russian authorities continue to restrict citizens' fundamental rights to express themselves via free and fair elections and peaceful assembly. A map of the Moscow demonstration was also posted, showing various gathering points. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Zakharova said that there is evidence showing the US Embassy in Russia's involvement in unauthorized assemblies. Would you like to comment on that? A: We could not agree more with Russia's position. Lately there have been several illegal marches in Moscow. The Russian government took measures to uphold social stability. There is sound legal basis for it. What is disturbing is that some Western countries rushed to the scene with their finger-pointing and tricks. Just as Russia described, this is typical interference in other countries' internal affairs and the very embodiment of hegemony. I need to point out the following. What certain foreign forces are up to in Russia is the same with their agenda in Hong Kong, China. A recent Russian statement on the situation in Hong Kong said that Western interference in China's domestic affairs goes far beyond rhetoric. They will do whatever it takes to contain China. These remarks have brought certain countries' dishonorable role in the violent activities in Hong Kong into sharp focus. They also exposed the hidden intention of external forces in instigating violence to destabilize Hong Kong. China completely agrees with and highly appreciates the statement. I would like to emphasize that China and Russia share common interests and needs in safeguarding sovereignty and national security, upholding social stability and order, and opposing foreign intervention. China stands ready to work with Russia to act on our presidents' important consensus and deepen our comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era. We will increase exchange and mutual learning, strengthen mutual support, communication and coordination, and uphold our shared interests. Q: According to reports, a Hong Kong resident surnamed Cheng who works in the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong went missing after he traveled to Shenzhen on August 8. According to his family, the Immigration Department of the Hong Kong SAR said that he was put under administrative detention in the mainland. Can you confirm that? Is this related to the recent protests in Hong Kong? A: Like I just said, I'm not aware of what you said. Q: On Monday, Twitter announced that it would ban advertisements from state-run media. Many noticed that Chinese state-run media outlets had bought advertisements on overseas social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook to produce |