Mao Ning, spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, takes a question during a regular press conference in Beijing, China, May 26, 2023. (PHOTO / FOREIGN MINISTRY, CHINA)

BEIJING - Nearly 26 years after Hong Kong's return, Britain still hasn't woken up from its colonial dream and continues seeking to interfere in Hong Kong affairs through a misleading "report", which has gravely violated the principles of international law and the basic norms governing international relations, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

"We strongly deplore and reject this," spokesperson Mao Ning told a daily press briefing.

Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong and Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs. To smear Hong Kong or talk down its prospects will not sway China's steady course of advancing "one country, two systems". 

Mao Ning, Spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry

Mao made the remarks when asked for comments on a so-called six-monthly report issued by the British government on Hong Kong on Thursday, which asked for the "removing of the National Security Law" and said that Britain will continue to monitor the proposed electoral changes to Hong Kong's District Council.

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Mao said that the so-called report is steeped in ideological bias and inconsistent with the facts.

Noting Hong Kong residents now enjoy far more rights and freedoms in accordance with law than they did before 1997, Mao said that the effective implementation of the law on safeguarding national security and the new electoral system has enabled Hong Kong to enter a new stage in which Hong Kong has restored order and is set to thrive.

"The United Kingdom has no sovereignty, jurisdiction or right of 'supervision' over Hong Kong after its return to China," said Mao, adding that the legal basis for the Chinese government's governance of Hong Kong is China's Constitution and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, not the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

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"Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong and Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs. To smear Hong Kong or talk down its prospects will not sway China's steady course of advancing 'one country, two systems'," Mao said.