The Foreign Ministry on Monday expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the United States’ interference in the rule of law and judicial independence of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
At the ministry’s daily news conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian urged the US to respect the SAR’s rule of law and judicial independence, and stop backing and condoning anti-China troublemakers from Hong Kong.
Instead, the US should make conducive efforts that benefit Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, he said.
The remarks came after US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus expressed concern on Friday about the arrest of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying. She said in a statement that the State Department expects “Hong Kong authorities not to use law enforcement selectively for political purposes”.
In response, Zhao said the US, by expressing such concerns, is openly interfering in the internal affairs of China and the Hong Kong SAR.
Lai, the owner of the Apple Daily newspaper, was arrested on suspicion of unlawful assembly and criminal intimidation. The Hong Kong businessman joined a rally on Aug 31 that descended into violence, as radicals vandalized the Legislative Council Complex and the police headquarters.
On Saturday, the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in the SAR also expressed strong disapproval and firm opposition to the US’ issuing the statement, saying that Washington is pointing fingers at the Hong Kong government’s law-based governance under the pretext of human rights and freedom.
“Some American politicians have openly glorified Jimmy Lai and his ilk — who have long been engaging in anti-China and troublemaking activities in Hong Kong — as ‘advocates for civil liberties and democracy’, while acting as the judge and firing accusations at the Hong Kong police, who have taken the action against the suspects in strict accordance with the law,” the statement read.
China is firmly committed to safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, while opposing any external interference in Hong Kong affairs, it added.
