Still, so far, at least 22 countries have co-sponsored the event, a document showed, including the United States, France and Germany.
China’s diplomatic mission in Geneva did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment. 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.
Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it would continue to raise “longstanding and legitimate concerns over the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong”, citing the Sino-British Joint Declaration which is meant to guarantee Hong Kong’s autonomy.
The financial hub returned to China from Britain in 1997. Diplomatic tensions between Chinese authorities and Britain have been running high in recent years.
Britain released a report this month saying that Hong Kong authorities have extended the application of a Beijing-imposed national security law “beyond genuine national security concerns”. Jimmy Lai’s trial under the new law has been postponed to Dec 18 and is expected to last 80 days.
China, one of the 47 members of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council and seeking re-election next month, has in the past sought to counter criticism of its human rights record.
Last year, it asked the then-UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet not to publish a highly-anticipated report which said that China’s arbitrary and discriminatory detention of Uyghurs in Xinjiang may constitute crimes against humanity.