This photo dated Aug 8, 2017 shows the Central Government Offices in Tamar, Hong Kong. (GOVERNMENT INFORMATION SERVICES)

HONG KONG - The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has strongly opposed comments relating to the HKSAR in a report titled "2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" issued by the United States’ Department of State.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the HKSAR government said human rights are fully protected by law in Hong Kong. 

“The Basic Law, which serves as the constitutional document of the HKSAR, provides a constitutional guarantee for fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to equality before the law, and is buttressed by the rule of law and an independent judiciary.”

Smearing the National Security Law out of political motivation is clear hypocrisy in adopting double standards.

Spokesperson, HKSAR government

The spokesperson said safeguarding human rights and freedoms is a constitutional duty of the HKSAR government, which is firmly committed to upholding human rights and various freedoms in Hong Kong.

In the statement, the spokesperson described as “utterly groundless” as the report calls into question China's willingness to uphold the "one country, two systems" principle.

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“To uphold and implement the principle of ‘one country, two systems’ meets the interests of the Hong Kong people, responds to the needs of maintaining Hong Kong's prosperity and stability and serves the fundamental interests of the nation,” the spokesperson said. The Central People’s Government has repeatedly made it clear that it will unswervingly implement the policy of "one country, two systems," according to the statement.

The HKSAR government also strongly objected to the comments in the US report smearing the National Security Law in Hong Kong. The spokesperson said national security is a matter within the purview of the central authorities and it is the legitimate right and duty of every country to safeguard its national security. 

“Smearing the National Security Law out of political motivation is clear hypocrisy in adopting double standards," the spokesman said.

The US report "makes a total mockery of human rights" as the US lags behind the HKSAR in global rankings in the areas of freedoms and the rule of law, said a spokesperson for the Commissioner's Office of the Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR

Regarding judicial independence, the spokesperson said as enshrined under the Basic Law, Hong Kong courts can exercise independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication, free from any interference. The spokesperson also stressed that all prosecutorial decisions are made independently based on objective assessment of all admissible evidence, applicable laws and the Prosecution Code, without political consideration. 

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On the postponement of the Legislative Council election, the spokesperson said the health and the well-being of the people are the overriding concerns of any responsible government. 

The government also opposed to report's claim that the decision to disqualify four LegCo members "sought to restrict the rights to express or report on dissenting political views," adding that the decision by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress was constitutional, lawful and reasonable.

The spokesman reiterated that foreign governments should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs of the HKSAR.

The Commissioner's Office of the Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR expressed a similar sentiment in a separate statement issued on the same day.

A spokesperson for the office said the report distorted the truth, demonized the central government's Hong Kong-related policy measures, vilified the SAR government's law-based governance and the police's law enforcement efforts.

The report, which openly endorsed anti-China forces sowing trouble in Hong Kong, is a gross violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations and an outright interference in Hong Kong affairs, which are China's internal affairs, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the finger-pointing US report "makes a total mockery of human rights" as the US lags behind the HKSAR in global rankings in the areas of freedoms and the rule of law.