HKSAR condemns and opposes unfounded allegations made by USCC report

HKSAR condemns and opposes unfounded allegations made by USCC report by Global Times Nov 17 2021

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government Thursday strongly condemned and opposed the unfounded allegations made by the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), saying any attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of China through Hong Kong will not succeed.

In a statement in response to a report released by the USCC, which made unfounded allegations about Hong Kong, a Hong Kong government spokesman urged the US to respect the international law and basic norms governing international relations. The spokesperson also said any attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of China through Hong Kong will not succeed.

Following the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL), chaos has been stopped and stability restored in Hong Kong. The four categories of offences endangering national security clearly stipulated under the Hong Kong National Security Law are narrowly defined. There is no question of law-abiding persons inadvertently violating the law, said the spokesman.

The HKSAR government strongly opposes the USCC’s recommendation concerning reporting on Hong Kong’s compliance with WTO rules. “As a separate customs territory, our rights as a WTO member in the name of ‘Hong Kong, China’ are not subject to unilateral determination by any country.”

The USCC report’s allegations against the improvement to the electoral system are unfounded, the spokesperson pointed out.

To ensure that the electoral system of the HKSAR accords with the principle of “one country, two systems” and the actual situation of the HKSAR, and that the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong” can be fully implemented, the improvement to the electoral system of the HKSAR is both timely and necessary.

The allegation made in the USCC report regarding a HKSAR Government Circular on national security education directed at the universities is false. The relevant circular is only applicable to secondary and primary schools as well as kindergartens, the spokesperson said.

In addition, the spokesperson also said no one should interfere with independent prosecutorial decisions which are carried out strictly in accordance with the law.