This July 14, 2020 photo shows the Golden Bauhinia Square in Hong Kong. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

HONG KONG - The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has strongly opposed the unfounded remarks on Hong Kong in the United States' 2021 Report on International Religious Freedom.

In a statement issued late Thursday, a spokesman for the HKSAR government said that following the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, chaos has stopped and order has been restored in Hong Kong. 

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The National Security Law ensures the resolute, full and faithful implementation of the “one country, two systems” principle under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy.

Spokesman, HKSAR government

“All law enforcement actions taken by the law enforcement agencies under the Hong Kong National Security Law, or indeed any local legislation, are based on evidence, strictly according to the law and for the acts of the persons or entities concerned, and have nothing to do with their political stance, background or occupation,” the spokesman stressed.

The National Security Law ensures the resolute, full and faithful implementation of the “one country, two systems” principle under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy. It also clearly stipulates that human rights shall be respected and protected in safeguarding national security in the HKSAR, said the spokesman. 

"The rights and freedoms, including the freedoms of speech, of the press, of publication, of association, of assembly, of procession and of demonstration, enjoyed by residents of the HKSAR under the Basic Law and the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as applicable to Hong Kong shall be protected in accordance with the law," according to the statement.

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The spokesman added that the four categories of offences endangering national security stipulated under the Hong Kong National Security Law are clearly defined. 

"Law-abiding people will not unwittingly violate the law."