The spokesperson of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in the HKSAR strongly disapproved and firmly rejected the so-called statement issued by the British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and some other members of the “Media Freedom Coalition”, which slandered Hong Kong’s press freedom and smeared the HKSAR government’s law enforcement activities. The historical trend of Hong Kong’s transition from chaos to stability and prosperity is irreversible, and any attempt to interfere with Hong Kong affairs and exert pressure on us in the name of press freedom is doomed to failure.

The spokesperson said that the Hong Kong Basic Law and the National Security Law safeguard lawful rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents, including freedom of speech and the press. Since the implementation of the National Security Law, Hong Kong’s social stability has been restored, development has returned to the right track, freedom of the press has been better protected in a safe, stable and law-based environment, and the number of international media and journalists in Hong Kong has further increased. Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law where laws shall be enforced. No one should use freedom of the press as a shield for engaging activities disrupting China and Hong Kong or undermining national security and social stability. However, some external forces, including the “Media Freedom Coalition”, have turned a blind eye to the good governance in the HKSAR and the facts of Hong Kong’s well-developed media sector and free flow of information. They teamed up to vilify Hong Kong’s freedom of the press, interfered with the rule of law in Hong Kong, and supported anti-China elements in the city, which fully exposed their intention of creating chaos in Hong Kong. Their move to confuse black and white is just wishful thinking and will fall flat.

The spokesperson pointed out that members of the so-called “Media Freedom Coalition” are not templates for press freedom. Some of them forcibly shut down news websites, suppressed media and journalists in other countries, and frequently prevented journalists from participating in government public activities. In the United States alone, at least 117 journalists were arrested or detained in 2020, and 148 were arrested or attacked in the week after the death of George Floyd. With such bad track records, how can they wag a finger at China’s Hong Kong affairs with condensation?

The spokesperson reiterated that Hong Kong is part of China and Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs. China is determined to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests and to fully and faithfully implement the principle of “one country, two systems”. We urge relevant countries and groups to recognize the facts, respect the general trend, abide by international law and basic norms governing international relations, and immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs under any pretext.