The call was made on Thursday at an event on the sidelines of the ongoing session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where participating Hong Kong activists based overseas claimed the city had turned into a “police state”, reports South China Morning Post.

A senior Beijing diplomat made clear such requests would not be considered, telling a conference the national security legislation was designed to prevent foreign powers meddling in China’s affairs, the newspaper reported.

Hong Kong has witnessed protests over the implementation of the new law.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed over to China in 1997, and the Basic Law preserves its autonomy as a Special Administrative Region under the principle of “one country, two systems”.