HONG KONG - Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said on Tuesday that no sensible and reasonable Hong Kong person would condone pro-independence activist Andy Chan Ho-tin’s recent letter to US President Donald Trump.

Of course such action is not appropriate, and just describing it as inappropriate perhaps has not reflected the public outcry and anger" such behavior has caused, Lam said

Lam, who made her remarks before the weekly Executive Council meeting, said she “deeply regrets” Chan’s action.

"Of course such action is not appropriate, and just describing it as inappropriate perhaps has not reflected the public outcry and anger" such behavior has caused, she said.

She expressed difficulty in finding the words to describe Chan’s deeds. “For somebody to advocate that a foreign government should penalize or punish Hong Kong is really - I just don't know what sort of adjectives to use to describe this sort of action.”

“Whether you support ‘one country, two systems’ or you don't, living in Hong Kong, I think everybody should take the interests of Hong Kong to heart,” she said.

Lam also noted that many people in society, including those who are normally very moderate commentators, said what Chan did should never have happened in Hong Kong.

In his open letter to Trump, Chan asked the US president to push for Hong Kong and the mainland to be kicked out of the World Trade Organization, and to suspend Hong Kong’s differential treatment from the Chinese mainland under the US-Hong Kong Policy Act.

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In Beijing, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the letter exposed Chan's true colors of colluding with external forces, disrupting Hong Kong's stability and opposing the country.

The spokesperson reiterated that China firmly opposes any attempt by external forces to interfere with Hong Kong affairs.

Hong Kong’s business sector also voiced disapproval of Chan's action.

The Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong, in a statement on Monday, said Chan’s “unreasonable” and “ridiculous” requests undermined Hong Kong’s position, posed threats to the city’s economy and encouraged external forces to interfere with its internal affairs.

Chan, the founder of Hong Kong National Party, delivered a speech advocating Hong Kong independence at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Central on Aug 14. The HKNP is the city’s only political group which explicitly advocates Hong Kong independence.

kathyzhang@chinadailyhk.com