The spokesperson for the Commissioner’s Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR strongly disapproved and firmly rejected the irresponsible comments made by the British Foreign Secretary at the UN Human Rights Council over Hong Kong, who attacked the National Security Law for the HKSAR, slandered the human rights situation in Hong Kong, and grossly interfered into Hong Kong affairs. We urge the British side to stop trampling on Hong Kong’s rule of law.

The spokesperson said that the national security law protects the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents as prescribed by the Basic Law of Hong Kong and the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as applied to Hong Kong, including the rights and freedoms of speech, press, publication and assembly. However, no right and freedom should cross the bottom line of national security, which is not only an explicit provision of the relevant international conventions, but also the common legal practice of all countries. The national security law only targets a very small number of criminals who engage in activities that endanger China’s national security, and effectively protects the lawful rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents. The UK itself has more rigorous legal frameworks for safeguarding national security, but turns to vilify the national security law for the HKSAR, which shows nothing but sheer double standard and contempt for the rule of law spirit of the UK!

The spokesperson stressed that after Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, the legal basis for the Chinese Central Government to govern the HKSAR is the Chinese Constitution and the Basic Law of Hong Kong, not the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The British side has neither sovereignty nor the right to governance and supervision over Hong Kong after 1997. The UK is distorting history and legal principles by citing the Sino-British Joint Declaration to judge Hong Kong affairs. During the British colonial rule, Chinese were excluded from Hong Kong’s governance structure for a long time, and the Public order Ordinance and the Societies Ordinance imposed strict restrictions on assembly, demonstration and association, so at that time, people of Hong Kong had no democracy, human rights and freedom at all. In recent years, the British side has repeatedly played the so-called “BNO card” and “judge card” and put together misleading reports to discredit the rule of law and human rights situation in Hong Kong. However, no one buys it because people around the world have seen through the hypocrisy of the UK.

The spokesperson pointed out that the UK has a bad record on human rights. The number of British people living under the poverty line is increasing, British people’s rights to life and health are overlooked, the living conditions of ethnic minorities in the UK continue to deteriorate, and its crime rate has repeatedly hit record highs. The British side is in no position to wade into the human rights situation of others at the UN Human Rights Council. We urge the British side to have serious self-reflection, recognize the reality, and put itself in the right position. The UK must stop any political performances and any colonial nostalgia about Hong Kong!