CHINA has been accused of increasing interference in Hong Kong with acts that potentially contravene an international treaty signed with the UK.

Campaigners have said that in recent years the freedoms guaranteed to the people of Hong Kong in its mini-constitution, the Basic Law, have been eroded.

A report by former LibDem leader, Paddy Ashdown, who travelled to Hong Kong on a fact-finding mission, said rule of law, democracy and interference by Beijing were areas of concern.

Ashdown wrote in the report. “The rule of law is under pressure, human rights are undermined and the city appears no closer to democracy.”

Concerns have also been highlighted about the independence of officials at the Department for Justice. Activists are reportedly being jailed and democratically-elected lawmakers disqualified.