China has strongly condemned a recent report by the United Kingdom on Hong Kong as being riddled with “irresponsible and non-factual accusations,” saying London’s “plans to disrupt” the financial hub “are doomed to fail.”
In the scathing rebuke on Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry in Hong Kong lambasted the assessment report by Britain on the Chinese financial hub, arguing that the report deliberately disregarded the “positive” societal conditions and a stabilizing business environment, instead supporting “anti-China” chaos.
In 2020, Beijing enforced a sweeping national security law in response to violent anti-government protests that shook the city in 2019. The Chinese government said that the law was aimed at a minority causing disorder in the Chinese financial hub that disregarded law and order.
Critics, however, argued that the law undermined the autonomous region’s powers and civil liberties.
The UK’s 53rd report on Hong Kong, covering the period from January 1 to June 30, alleged that Chinese authorities have extended the application of the law “beyond genuine national security concerns.”
The United States, Britain, and other Western countries have openly slammed the Chinese law and voiced support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.
“In recent years the number of people in the UK living in poverty has been increasing…crime rates have hit record highs. What confidence does it have to criticize Hong Kong’s democracy and human rights situation?” the Chinese foreign ministry said, stressing, “Plans to disrupt Hong Kong are doomed to fail.”
London claims in the report that Chinese authorities continue to try to use legal routes to suppress the protest anthem ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ while media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s national security trial has been further delayed.
Furthermore, at a regular press briefing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning also denounced the report as a blatant interference in Hong Kong affairs and a violation of the principles of international law and the basic norms of international relations
“We see in this so-called report the usual irresponsible, non-factual accusations,” she added.
“Hong Kong has actively integrated itself into China’s development and continues to serve as an important bridge and window between the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world,” she further said.
Hong Kong has been governed under the “one-country, two-system” model since the city – a former British colony – reunited with China in 1997.
