The CCP-owned Global Times (August 17) warned that "Hong Kong secessionists fleeing to the UK and promoting the "parliament in exile" severely breach and blatantly defy Article 29 of the national security law for Hong Kong" and "that those people, along with UK organizations or individuals who sponsored them, will face legal punishment no matter their whereabouts and face severe sanctions from China". China's ambassador to the UK also warned that harbouring a so-called "parliament" in the UK will set new severe obstacles to bilateral ties. In an exclusive interview with the Global Times, Liu Xiaoming, Chinese Ambassador to the UK, said it would be wrong if the UK permits the establishment of this so-called "parliament in exile," and this will create a new and serious obstacle to China-UK ties.  He said such an organization would be an anti-China organization aimed at undermining "one country, two systems," dividing China and promoting "Hong Kong independence." He added that if this were allowed, the UK would be in serious violation of the basic norms governing international relations - that is to say, respect for other countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity. Tian Feilong, a legal expert on Hong Kong affairs at Beihang University in Beijing, said exiled Hong Kong activists in the UK should be aware that establishing such a council directly violates the newly enacted national security law for Hong Kong, as provided in Article 29 of the law, no matter their whereabouts.  Article 29 states that a person who conspires with a foreign country or an institution, organization or individual outside the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, shall be guilty of an offence. "No matter where they are, be they in Hong Kong or outside of it, the mainland and SAR governments have the right to punish them". He added that if any UK politician or organization is found sponsoring illegal activities of those secessionists, they should also be punished and face sanctions from China. If this were allowed, the UK would be in serious violation of the basic norms governing international relations - that is to say, respect for other countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity, Liu said.

(Comment: Sunny Cheung fled Hong Kong for the U.K. before the police formally charged him. Reports said he is likely to join high-profile Hong Kong secessionist Nathan Law Kwun-chung, who has also fled to the U.K., and build the "parliament in exile" together with Simon Cheng, a former employee of the British Consulate-General in Hong Kong.)