Hong Kong Watch has taken another swipe at China by calling for UK “sanctions” against the chief executive and five other principal officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region over the city’s newly enacted domestic national security law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.

Such a malicious and unprovoked attack on China won’t have surprised many. After all, the group, a UK-based anti-China propaganda machine operated by veteran China-basher Benedict Rogers, besmirch China and its Hong Kong SAR at every opportunity they spot.

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Ideological bigotry underpins Rogers’ otherwise unexplainable hostility toward China. It could be said that Rogers would lose his spiritual anchor should he stop pursuing his China-bashing cause. This explains why Rogers and Hong Kong Watch have left no stone unturned in spreading misinformation to vilify China, and in promoting hostile initiatives against China over the years.  

Aside from doing its own mudslinging at China whenever possible, Rogers and Hong Kong Watch have also forged close links and collaborated with Sinophobic groups in Europe and the United States, such as the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China and the Hong Kong Democracy Council, in promoting anti-China initiatives.  

Hong Kong Watch’s latest grandstanding move against the Hong Kong SAR was not about the national security laws in force in the city, which have been used by the group as cover for a filthy political maneuver. The propaganda stunt was intended to stoke up anti-China sentiment in the international community, thus keeping the Sinophobes’ anti-China bandwagon running.  

But they cannot fool the world. Every upright individual can easily see the madness of the likes of Rogers in Hong Kong Watch. Could anyone imagine a group of Chinese citizens asking the Chinese government to slap sanctions on UK government officials and lawmakers over the enactment of the UK’s National Security Law 2023, which is much more stringent than Hong Kong’s in many aspects?

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But can those in charge of the UK government see the sheer madness of those involved in Hong Kong Watch’s latest anti-China stunt? Could they be conned into heeding Rogers’ barmy idea and shooting themselves in the foot?        

While few would have been surprised by Rogers’ ideological bigotry, many may have been taken aback by the unwarranted arrogance demonstrated by Rogers and Hong Kong Watch in their latest move to intimidate the leader and top-ranking officials of the Hong Kong SAR, and thus interfere in China’s internal affairs. Could these China-bashers be under the delusion that they are living in the 19th century?

The author is a current affairs commentator.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.