HONG KONG - Hong Kong's development and prosperity will not be blocked by any external forces through slander, oppression or containment, a spokesperson for the Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said on Friday.

"The rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents are protected by law. But all rights and freedoms have boundaries and must be exercised within the law. No one has the privilege of being above the law, and freedom of speech, press and assembly is not a shield for breaking the law and committing crimes," the spokesperson said.

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What the EU side has done is "a serious blasphemy against the spirit of the rule of law and a serious trampling on the dignity of the rule of law," said a spokesperson for the Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

The remarks came in response to the EU's so-called annual report on Hong Kong, which viciously attacked "one country, two systems," smeared democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong, clamored for anti-China rioters in Hong Kong, and grossly interfered in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs at large.

What the EU side has done is "a serious blasphemy against the spirit of the rule of law and a serious trampling on the dignity of the rule of law," the spokesperson said.

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Facts have proved that today's Hong Kong is clean and prosperous, and has entered the best period of economic development with an effective legal guarantee, the spokesperson said, noting that Hong Kong is a society under the rule of law, and it is a basic principle that laws must be followed and violations of the law must be prosecuted.