Lee Jun-seok, leader of People Power Party in South Korea Photo: CFP

Chinese ambassador to South Korea Xing Haiming met with the new leader of People Power Party Lee Jun-seok on Monday to discuss the situation in Hong Kong after Lee, the youngest leader of any major political party in South Korean history, walked a tough line over Hong Kong matters in an interview with Bloomberg. 

On matters of China's Hong Kong, Xing said that since its return to the motherland, the "one country, two systems" has been thoroughly implemented in Hong Kong while giving it a high degree of autonomy. The rights and freedoms of the Hong Kong people are fully guaranteed by law, and the region has seen great improvements in its democracy. 

Xing's remarks were made after the 36-year-old leader of South Korea's People Power Party said in an interview with Bloomberg that his fellow millennials will push back against Chinese "cruelty" in places like Hong Kong, implying a tougher stance toward China if his political group regains power.

However, since 2019, separatists in Hong Kong, who were incited by external forces, began wantonly trampling on the rule of law and carried out indiscriminate terrorist activities that severely damaged social stability. This is the source of the chaos in Hong Kong. It exposed the loopholes in the regional legal system in terms of national security, Xing stressed. 

Against that backdrop, the National Security Law for Hong Kong was established last year to safeguard the "one country, two systems" principle. One year after its implementation, the Hong Kong society has returned to normal, with the rights of not only local people but foreign nationals better ensured in a safer environment. 

Xing noted that since many South Korean enterprises have invested in Hong Kong, and its nationals are living in the region, the stability and prosperity in Hong Kong not only meets the interests of the 1.4 billion Chinese people, but also that of South Korea. 

Xing congratulated Lee on his new post and said that China and South Korea are close neighbors, and the two sides have forged a strong, deep, comprehensive partnership in the 29 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties. 

Party exchanges are an important part of bilateral relations, Xing noted. People Power Party is a union of several parties, including the Liberty Korea Party, which was the first to establish friendly relations with the Communist Party of China (CPC,) and has since kept close relations. 

Lee spoke highly of the achievements China has made over the years, and said his party is willing to inherit the spirit from older generations when Kim Koo, the late leader of the South Korean independence movement, worked closely with China fighting against Japanese invasion in the 1930s. Lee also emphasized on joining hands with China on deepening party exchanges and cooperation.