HK liaison office condemns foreign interference in Hong Kong affairs

The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Saturday said that statements by certain Western countries have defamed the justified decision of China to improve HKSAR's electoral system, aiming at containing China's development.

The decision was adopted by the National People's Congress (NPC) on improving the electoral system of the HKSAR during the just concluded Two Sessions.

In a statement released on Saturday, a spokesperson for the liaison office said that the those statements by some western countries have grossly violated the international law and the norms governing international relations, stressing the improvement is made for Hong Kong's long-term stability and prosperity.

However, when Hong Kong was gripped by the social unrest in 2019, in which anti-China disruptors carried out "Hong Kong independence" and "mutual destruction" schemes and jumped on the loopholes of the electoral system to endanger national security, some western countries and external forces added fuel to the fire and covered up the rioters, plunging Hong Kong further into the abyss, the spokesperson said.

Considering the severe consequences caused by the loopholes, it is the right and responsibility of central authorities to improve related systems at the constitutional level and plug loopholes in the electoral system of Hong Kong, the spokesperson added.

While the NPC's decision has solid legal ground and wins widespread support in Hong Kong, some countries vigorously smeared the decision and distorted facts under the name of "democracy" and "freedom," which was in fact aimed at messing up HKSAR and China, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson condemned the Western countries' statements as sheer prejudice and double standards and pointed out that no country would allow an unpatriotic person to hold public office.

At the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Belarus delivered a joint speech on behalf of 71 countries, emphasizing that Hong Kong affairs are China's internal affairs and should not be interfered with.

(Cover; More than 100 fishing boats parade at the Victoria Harbor to celebrate the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland in Hong Kong, south China, July 1, 2020. /Xinhua)

(With input from Xinhua)