London: A Group of Seven statement stated on Monday (May 9) that the nomination process for a new chief executive in Hong Kong is a matter of great worry and highlights larger concerns about fundamental freedoms there, provoking a reprimand from China.

        As the financial hub strives to reinvent itself after many years of political turbulence, Hong Kong's leader-in-waiting, John Lee, was endorsed for the city's top post on Sunday by a committee loaded with pro-Beijing supporters.

        Lee, the single candidate, earned votes from 1,416 members of a pro-Beijing election committee, whose members had been verified for their adherence to the central government. Despite China's vows to one day offer complete democracy to the former British colony, which reverted to Chinese authority in 1997, the remainder of the city's 7.4 million residents had little role in picking their leader.

        "The existing nomination procedure and subsequent appointment constitute a dramatic divergence from the goal of universal suffrage and further diminish Hong Kongers' ability to be lawfully represented," according to a joint G7 statement posted on the British government's website.

        The G7's "so-called statement" was "full of arrogance and prejudice," the Central Government's Liaison Office in Hong Kong said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that the Hong Kong election process was lawful and fair.

        The G7's "irresponsible statements," which insulted Hong Kong's new voting system and blatantly interfered in China's internal affairs, were condemned by the Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong late Monday.