This is CBS I on the world with John Bachelor.

Here's John Bachelor.

Gordon Chang at Gordon G. Chang, my colleague and co-host and friend,

and we're very pleased to welcome the President of the Committee for Freedom and Hong Kong Foundation,

Mark Clifford, author of a new book forthcoming, I look forward

to it, Jimmy Lye, the troublemaker, how Jimmy Lye became a billionaire Hong Kong's

greatest dissident and China's fiercest critic.

Mark, a very good evening to you.

Thank you for this.

I begin our conversation about the abuse of Jimmy Lye and the abuse of other Democrats in Hong Kong for

standing up for freedom of expression, transparency, success for the people of

Hong Kong. I begin that conversation with a headline from the

Wall Street Journal in these last hours that seems both revelatory and useful

where we're going. The headline turns on a dispute between the

ambassador to China, the People's Republic of China, Mr. Burns, and the foreign desk of the foreign ministry.

The dispute is over how China believes the U.S US is persecuting Chinese nationals in some fashion,

which seems deeply, deeply ironic, but there's no time for irony in foreign affairs.

So your comments are more than welcome

about China rejects US Ambassador's accusation.

A spokesman for China's foreign ministry said that China had acted in a spirit of mutual

respect and accused the U.S. of hindering exchanges between people.

Mark, a good evening to you.

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