GENEVA, Sept 26 (Reuters) - China is pressing countries to boycott a British-organised event at the United Nations in Geneva on media freedom in Hong Kong with the son of a jailed media tycoon, a letter showed and four diplomats confirmed on Tuesday.
The event on Wednesday titled ‘Media Freedom in Hong Kong’ is being held on the sidelines of the five-week meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council.
In a letter circulated widely among diplomats at the U.N. in Geneva, China’s mission asked countries “to refrain from participating in this event in any way”.
“Hong Kong-related issues are China’s internal affairs that brook no external interference,” said the diplomatic note reviewed by Reuters.
Still, so far, at least 22 countries have co-sponsored the event, a document showed, including the United States, France and Germany.
Hong Kong authorities released a general statement saying it condemned “misleading and slanderous remarks” by organisations and media in the context of the Lai case which amounted to political interference.
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