Chinese national flag and the flag of the HKSAR are flown across streets in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong, in June 2022 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the city's return to the motherland. Photo: IC

The Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the HKSAR government on Thursday expressed strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to a so-called Hong Kong-related resolution of the US Senate on March 15, which sugarcoated anti-China forces in Hong Kong and maliciously smeared the Hong Kong national security law.

The "resolution" interferes HKSAR's law-based governance, seriously violates international law and basic norms governing international relations and constitutes severe interference in China's internal affairs, said the spokesperson of Commissioner's Office.

China urges US politicians to engage in self-reflection, abide by the principle of international laws and basic norms governing international relations of "non-interference in other countries' internal affairs," and immediately stop their political grandstanding and interference in Hong Kong affairs, the spokesperson said.

The HKSAR government also firmly rejected the so-called resolution of the US Senate.

The US politicians have put politics above the law through the so-called resolution. Their hypocrisy and "double standards" are obvious and their plot of "using Hong Kong to contain China" will never succeed, the spokesperson said.

Any attempt by any country, organization, or individual to use political power to interfere with the judicial process in Hong Kong and enable any defendant to evade due judicial proceedings is a blatant violation of the rule of law in Hong Kong, said the HKSAR government spokesperson.

The spokesperson of Commissioner's Office stressed that the Chinese government is firm in its determination to safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests, to implement the principle of "one country, two systems."

The so-called resolution of the US Senate is full of lies. They groundlessly accused the police in the HKSAR of using excessive force in dealing with "black violence" forces, but American police have shot innocent people to death.

When they said more than 200 people have been arrested under the national security law, thousands of American people have been arrested and prosecuted after the Capitol Hill riot under American laws, the spokesperson said.

The politicians violated the rule of law and emboldened the rioters by clamoring for the release of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and other suspects in Hong Kong, the spokesperson said.

Anti-China politicians in the US attacked Hong Kong over a lack of credibility as an international business center, however, the latest data reveals that tourist arrivals in HKSAR in February exceed 1 million for the first time in three years, reaching 1.46 million, fully demonstrating the confidence of the Chinese people and the international community in Hong Kong's future development.

They said nothing about the malaise in their own country, but point the finger at HKSAR affairs as a ploy to "use Hong Kong to contain China," and their "resolution" is nothing but a paper of hypocrisy and hegemony, the spokesperson noted.

Since the implementation of the Hong Kong national security law, the rule of law and the business environment have been improved and the community has become more stable and united, embracing a new era of governance and prosperity, said the spokesperson. Hong Kong residents rejoiced and international investors have also expressed their confidence in HKSAR's development with actions.

The Basic Law and the national security law fully guarantee the wide range of rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents in accordance with the law, but no rights and freedoms are absolute, and no one is above the law, said the spokesperson.

The HKSAR government enforces laws justly and the judiciary handles cases impartially, which brooks no vilification.

The HKSAR government will uphold national sovereignty, security and development interests, upholding the authority of the national security law; the HKSAR government will also safeguard the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents, ensuring the steady and lasting implementation of the "one country, two systems," the spokesperson reiterated.

Global Times