China's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Zheng Zeguang, has lodged strong representations with the British government over a recent UK court ruling involving two Chinese citizens, including an employee of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London.

According to a statement released by the Chinese Embassy, Ambassador Zheng requested a meeting with an official from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on May 8, during which he rejected the unfounded accusations by the British side and urged the UK government to correct its mistake.

The ambassador said the UK had used trumped-up crimes to arrest and indict the individuals concerned, calling the court verdict "a political farce" and accusing Britain of abusing legal procedures for political purposes.

"The so-called conviction was the outcome of abusing the law and manipulating the judicial process by the UK side," Zheng said, according to the embassy statement. "Its sole purpose is to embolden those anti-China elements who are hiding in the UK and bent on destabilizing Hong Kong, and to smear the Chinese central government and the Hong Kong SAR government."

Zheng also accused the UK of harboring individuals wanted by Hong Kong authorities and said the arrests and convictions had seriously violated basic norms of international relations and damaged China-UK relations.

He urged the UK side to stop the anti-China political manipulation, stop wantonly arresting and convicting Chinese citizens in the UK, and stop backing and emboldening those anti-China elements.

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