Photo: CFP

Chinese Foreign Ministry's commissioner officer in Hong Kong, the Chinese embassy in the UK, the liaison office of the central government in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government condemned the smears and irresponsible remarks made by Five Eyes countries, the EU and G7 on Hong Kong's Legislative Council election, urging them to stop any form of interference in Hong Kong affairs, which are China's internal affairs.

China urges these countries to take off their mask of hypocrisy, respect China's sovereignty and unity, and stop any form of interference in Hong Kong affairs, which are China's internal affairs, spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in the UK said in a statement on Monday shortly after the joint statement issued by the foreign minister of the UK along with his counterparts of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US.

The G7 and the EU also voiced "concern" over the outcome of the LegCo election calling it an "erosion of democratic elements."

These comments completely distorted the facts, maliciously smeared the Hong Kong affairs and blatantly interfered in China's internal affairs, on which China expressed the firm opposition and strong condemnation, the spokesperson said in the statement.

The Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong also blasted the joint statements. 

In a new statement issued by the commissioner's office on Tuesday, the spokesperson called the joint statement by the G7 and EU a "staged political farce" that won't change Hong Kong public's judgment of right and wrong. Their old rhetoric won't nullify the Chinese government's sincerity and achievement in supporting the development of Hong Kong's democracy and their interference won't prevent the progress of Hong Kong in developing high quality democracy based on its own conditions, the spokesperson said.

On late Monday night, the office said in a statement that smears on the Hong Kong LegCo election from outside forces are an insult to themselves. Such wrong acts of questioning the legitimacy of the election results, openly supporting the anti-China rioters and blatantly interfering in China's internal affairs must be corrected.

The UK repeatedly cited the Sino-British Joint Declaration as its argument in commenting on Hong Kong affairs, which is distorting the history and legal fundamental, the office said. Australia, Canada and New Zealand have been openly backing some anti-China rioters who sabotaged Hong Kong's democracy and the rule of law. And rather than reflecting on their own mistakes, they have been continuing going down on this wrong path, which will only lead to "bitter results."

The spokesperson from the commissioner's office also emphasized that the days when foreign forces could use their political agents to interfere in Hong Kong affairs are over.

The liaison office of the central government in Hong Kong also condemned the cliché used by a handful of Western countries to smear Hong Kong affairs, stressing that their practice won't change the general trend. "They are the biggest threat to Hong Kong's development of democracy and the city's prosperity and stability," the spokesperson of the liaison office said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The HKSAR government also condemned the blatant interference in a statement on Tuesday morning saying that "we strongly oppose to the five countries' attempt to smear against the 2021 LegCo General Election of Hong Kong by making up allegations contrary to facts and without basis. The 2021 LegCo General Election was held successfully after the improvement to the electoral system."

"There's no surprise that those countries reacted in this way, as it's becoming increasingly difficult for their agents to incite trouble in Hong Kong anymore," Lau Siu-kai, Vice President of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

When it's difficult for the US to contain China from the position of strength, it has to play the card of ideology by slandering China's political system, including HKSAR's, Lau said, noting that the Western-style democracy, however, is engulfed in deep dilemma.

Such interference will make more Hong Kong people feel resentful. As the Western-style of democracy loses attraction, it's hard for them to play the Hong Kong card in containing China, Lau said.

Some experts also noted that such apparent "united stance" of criticizing the HKSAR LegCo election only shows those Western countries are losers in wrestling with China by trying to turn the Chinese city into an anti-China bridgehead. And using democracy as a cover is just the final struggle of those countries, experts said.