Washington, Aug 2 (UNI) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday criticized the Hong Kong administration for postponing the legislative elections by one-year, pondering whether Hong Kongers will ever be able to vote again.
Earlier this week Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced the decision to delay the Legislative Assembly elections scheduled for September 6 to September 5, 2021, citing coronavirus fears.
An official statement released by the State Department questioned the rationale behiend the long delay “The United States condemns the Hong Kong government’s decision to postpone by one year upcoming Legislative Council elections originally scheduled for September 6. There is no valid reason for such a lengthy delay. It is likely, therefore, that Hong Kong will never again be able to vote – for anything or anyone,”.
Pompeo lashed out at Beijing for what he called was its flouting of the 1997 Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong’s Basic Law.
The statement urged Hong Kong authorities to reconsider the delay or risk continuing to become just another city in China. “We urge Hong Kong authorities to reconsider their decision. The elections should be held as close to the September 6 date as possible and in a manner that reflects the will and aspirations of the Hong Kong people. If they aren’t, then regrettably Hong Kong will continue its march toward becoming just another Communist-run city in China,” read the statement.
Chief Executive Lam explained the lengthy delay to the fact that the elections require extensive preparations, which the government wanted to avoid in times of high COVID-19 transmission.
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