HK LegCo File photo:VCG

 
The Five Eyes Alliance has made deliberate misrepresentations and told falsehoods, marked by brazen contempt for facts regarding the postponement of the Legislative Council General Election (LegCo election) due to the severe epidemic situation, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said in a statement on Monday, slamming the alliance for adopting double standards and hypocrisy. 

Foreign governments should respect the peace, stability and prosperity that Hong Kong residents yearn for and cherish under the principle of “one country, two systems,” and should not act hypocritically by “pretending to support Hong Kong people,” the HKSAR government said.

COVID-19 has led to a staggering number of confirmed cases and deaths, and the postponement of the Legislative Council election is a decision based entirely on public health considerations, as the outbreak is still likely to continue in winter. Postponing the election is by no means “disproportionate” as the five foreign ministers have alleged, the SAR government said in the statement. 

The Five Eyes Alliance includes the US, the UK Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Ironically, while the five foreign ministers criticized the SAR government’s decision to postpone the election, their own governments have also delayed elections for similar reasons, which shows their double standards and hypocrisy, the SAR said. 

The UK postponed local council and metro-mayoral elections for a year from May 7, 2020 to May 6, 2021 through emergency legislation on March 25, which was 42 days away from the elections. New South Wales in Australia also decided in March to postpone local government elections, six months before they were due to be held.

In mid-March this year, New Brunswick in Canada decided to postpone municipal elections that were planned for May this year to no later than May 2021, a decision made two months ahead of the elections.

Many states in the US, including Maryland, Indiana, Georgia and Louisiana also postponed their presidential primary elections. In comparison, the HKSAR government continued to monitor the development of the epidemic and announced that it had no choice but to postpone the LegCo election in 2020 as close as possible to the election on July 31 (36 days before the election).         

The Hong Kong SAR government also fully supports the decisions made by Returning Officers (ROs) to validate the nominations of candidates for the LegCo election.

Those who advocate or promote Hong Kong independence, self-determination or changing the HKSAR system by supporting Hong Kong independence as an option for self-determination or by soliciting intervention by foreign governments or political authorities could not genuinely uphold the Basic Law and could not therefore perform the duties of a LegCo member.

The ROs’ decisions comply with the legal provisions, and have nothing to do with political censorship or restriction of freedom of speech, nor do they undermine the democratic process or erode the rights and freedoms of the people, as falsely claimed by the five foreign ministers, the announcement said.