A Hong Kong resident takes a photo of the display of national and HKSAR flags on Oct 1, 2022. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG/MACAO – The Hong Kong and Macao governments have expressed their strong opposition to content related to the two special administrative regions in a report on human rights issued recently by the US Department of State.

The self-styled report contains unfounded commentary that smears the actual human rights conditions in Hong Kong and Macao, making a brutal attempt to intervene in the SARs’ affairs and China's internal affairs, the two governments said in separate statements issued late on Tuesday.

By issuing the so-called annual report, the US again made despicable tricks, which override law by politics, with an attempt to undermine the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong by politicizing human rights issues and slandering the human rights situation and rule of law in the city. It will only expose its own weakness and faulty arguments and be doomed to fail.

Spokesman for the HKSAR government

Pointing out that the HKSAR is local administrative region that enjoys a high degree of autonomy under 'one country, two systems' and comes directly under the central government, a government spokesperson said the government resolutely carries out its duties and obligations to safeguard national security in accordance with the law, and upholds the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong people as protected under the law.

“By issuing the so-called annual report, the US again made despicable tricks, which override law by politics, with an attempt to undermine the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong by politicizing human rights issues and slandering the human rights situation and rule of law in the city. It will only expose its own weakness and faulty arguments and be doomed to fail,” said the spokesman. 

ALSO READ: Commissioner in HKSAR draws red lines on US interference

The HKSAR government reiterated its call to the US to immediately stop using human rights as an excuse to interfere into the internal affairs of the HKSAR of the PRC.

US hidden agenda 

The central government is committed to governing Macao in accordance with the law, ensuring that Macao residents enjoy extensive rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China and the Basic Law of the Macao SAR, the Macao government said in its statement.

With strong support from the central government, Macao will continue to give full play to its advantages, integrate intensively into overall national development, and make fresh contributions to the steady and sustained development of "one country, two systems" practices, it added.

The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in the Macao SAR also voiced strong opposition to the so-called reports.

READ MORE: Macao SAR govt firmly opposes biased US report

The US side has always ignored facts and applied double standards on the issue of human rights, being obsessed with repeatedly attacking others while turning a blind eye to its own human rights woes such as racial discrimination and gun violence, said a spokesperson for the office.

This reveals the US side's hidden agenda of interfering in other countries' internal affairs and seeking its own political interests, the spokesperson added.

Stressing that local residents have the most say in judging the human rights situation of Macao, the spokesperson warned the US side to immediately stop interfering in Macao affairs using human rights as a pretext.