Beijing on Friday lashed at the UK government for impugning China's stand on Hong Kong's autonomy in a report issued Thursday to the British Parliament, according to state-run news agency Xinhua.

The UK Foreign Office says a missing Hong Kong bookseller was likely abducted to mainland China, calling the manner of his disappearance a "serious breach" of the treaty under which control of the city was ceded back to China in 1997.. 

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UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said in a bi-annual report on Hong Kong affairs that Lee Bo, a British citizen who was last seen in Hong Kong in December, was "involuntarily removed" to the mainland.

"No Change"

"Hong Kong continues to enjoy prosperity and stability, and Hong Kong residents enjoy every right and freedom they are entitled to in accordance with the law," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei. "The Chinese government is resolute in carrying forward 'one country, two systems' and this resolve is subject to no change."

Lee is one of five men linked to the Hong Kong publishing company Mighty Current Media and its Causeway Bay Bookshop, who went missing in recent months only to later resurface in mainland China.

Lee's disappearance, in particular, has sparked concern in the UK and its former colony because the bookseller was reportedly last seen in the company's Hong Kong warehouse.  A number of media reports suggest that he did not have his travel permits with him, giving rise to speculation that Lee was snatched then smuggled into the mainland.

"The full facts of the case remain unclear, but our current information indicates that Mr Lee was involuntarily removed to the mainland without any due process under Hong Kong SAR law," Hammond said in the report.

SAR is an acronym for Special Administrative Region, the governing framework upheld by the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong.  The declaration is intended to guarantee the city's rights and freedoms for decades after the UK ceded the territory to China in 1997.

"Dissatisfied and Opposed"

The report issued by the British Foreign Office is the strongest signal yet that London believes Lee was abducted, although it makes no mention by whom or how the bookseller was taken. The document has prompted the Chinese foreign ministry to accuse the UK of "irresponsible carping and finger-wagging," says the New York Times.   

"I would like to reiterate that Hong Kong is China's special administrative region," Hong said. "Hong Kong affairs are China's domestic affairs in which no foreign country has the right to interfere."

Chinese police officials confirmed in January that Lee is in China, and released letters from the bookseller to his family saying he went to the mainland voluntarily. 

China has dismissed the UK's insinuations on the same basis by which it previously rejected a call from the European Union (EU) for the release of all five booksellers.

"The UK government interfered in Hong Affairs and made groundless accusations against China by issuing the so-called Six-Monthly Report to Parliament on Hong Kong," said Hong. "We are strongly dissatisfied with -- and firmly opposed to -- that." 

TagsChina-United Kingdom relations, Hong Kong Bookseller, British Paliament