China raps UK after activist barred from HK

— China has lodged a diplomatic protest with Britain after London demanded to know why a British human rights activist was barred from entering Hong Kong, it said Thursday.

Immigration agents stopped Benedict Rogers, deputy chairman of the ruling Conservative Party’s human rights commission, from entering the former British colony on Wednesday morning.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson voiced concern and said his government would be “seeking an urgent explanation.”

China “launched stern representations” over the comments, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said during a regular press briefing.