Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod now admits that the case of the pro-democracy activist Ted Hui has created tensions between Denmark and China. Yet he rejects a diplomatic crisis.
According to local media Politiken, Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod has behind closed doors had a diplomatic dispute with not only the authorities in both China and Hong Kong but also with the Chinese Embassy in Denmark – including directly with the Chinese Ambassador during a face-to-face meeting.
The dispute is due to the fact that the Hong Kong authorities recently asked the Danish government for help in conducting a criminal investigation of several Danish politicians, something the Danish Foreign Minister for the first time publicly has admitted. The diplomatic dispute is also over Jeppe Kofod’s recent tweet regarding his criticism over Chinese changes in Hong Kong’s electoral system.
Earlier this week, the two cases prompted Uffe Elbæk from the Danish left-wing political party the Independent Greens to ask Jeppe Kofod if he would summon the Chinese Ambassador to a meeting and the Foreign Minister now admits that there has been extensive diplomatic activity on the Danish side.
