The Chinese national and Hong Kong regional flags fly as visitors take photos at the Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai, Hong Kong on Jan 1, 2024. (SHAMIM ASHRAF / CHINA DAILY)
The Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR and representatives of Hong Kong lawmakers and residents on Thursday strongly condemned the irresponsible and malicious remarks by United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Cameron regarding the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong SAR.
They were responding to Cameron’s recent statement which criticized the SAR government for its failure to fulfill the obligations of safeguarding human rights and freedoms as stipulated in the Basic Law of Hong Kong and Sino-British Joint Declaration and international conventions, and strongly urged the SAR government to reconsider the legislative proposal and genuinely consult the city’s residents.
In response, a spokesperson of the Commissioner’s Office said the legislation of Article 23 is the common aspiration of the Hong Kong public and any attempts by external forces to intervene or impose pressure on legislation would be futile.
A spokesperson of the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR laid bare the double standards of some politicians and media from certain countries, including the UK, who by their inherent prejudice against China and the SAR have judged the city’s legislative attempts through “tainted spectacles”
The spokesperson said Britain has absolutely no sovereignty, governance, or supervisory power over Hong Kong following its return to the motherland.
The Chinese government has exercised its overall jurisdiction over the HKSAR in accordance with the legal basis since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, jointly formed by the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China and the Basic Law of Hong Kong, rather than the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
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The spokesperson also laid bare the double standards of some politicians and media from certain countries, including the UK, who by their inherent prejudice against China and the SAR have judged the city’s legislative attempts through “tainted spectacles” while ignoring the fact that the national security laws in their home countries are both stricter and more wide-reaching.
Calling such behavior hypocritical and ill-intended, the spokesperson took aim at foreign critics for deliberately pitting national security against rights and freedoms, and for smearing the legislation of Article 23 under the pretext of providing opinions.
The spokesperson emphasized that the China will fully and accurately implement the principle of “one country, two systems” and firmly supports the SAR in completing the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR, reiterating that no external interference can affect SAR government’s determination to progress the legislation.
This file photo dated Nov 17, 2016 shows the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Central, Hong Kong. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)
Cameron’s remarks also incensed the city’s residents, with some of them protesting outside the British Consulate General Hong Kong in Central of Hong Kong Island on Thursday afternoon. They demanded the British side to immediately stop its gross interference in the city’s internal affairs.
Lawmaker Elizabeth Quat Pui-fan also weighed in on the chorus of criticism over Cameron’s remarks. Calling them inaccurate and baseless, Quat urged the British side to immediately cease interfering in Hong Kong affairs and attacking the city.
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Quat emphasized that the legislation is conducted based on common law and does not affect the city’s judicial independence, adding that residents’ rights and freedom of press, speech and assembly in Hong Kong are protected by the Basic Law and will not be impacted by the legislation.
