German ambassador summoned by Beijing over Wong visit: Chinese envoy

[BERLIN] China has summoned the German ambassador in Beijing following a meeting between Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong and Germany's foreign minister, Beijing's envoy in Berlin said Wednesday.

"The ambassador was summoned in Beijing by the foreign ministry," China's ambassador to Germany Wu Ken told reporters, after Mr Wong met German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in Berlin on Monday.

"What I can say is how big the disappointment is on the Chinese side, and we protest very strongly. This incident will have a very negative impact on the bilateral relationship."

China's government had repeatedly urged Berlin not to allow Mr Wong to enter the country.

Beijing reacted angrily after Mr Wong met Mr Maas at a media event on Monday organised at the Bundestag by Germany's top-selling daily Bild.

Referring to the meeting, Mr Wu said "we don't know in this case, what goals these politicians have, are they really concerned" about freedom and democracy "or are they trying to add oil to the fire to gain political capital?".

Earlier in Berlin, the 22-year-old Wong insisted he is not a separatist and said his goal is to reform the election system in Hong Kong and "elect our own government".

But Mr Wu accused "some radicals" of using democracy as a mask to hide their separatist intentions.

He added that the violence by protestors shows they want to turn the situation in Hong Kong into "chaos" and accused Mr Wong of masterminding "violent" protests in the Asian financial hub.

"More and more facts have made it clear that, under the pretext of democracy, some radicals want to hide their true face" and are only "against the rule of law and of social order", added the Chinese ambassador.

AFP