Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Beijing slams US over Hong Kong report and says basic facts disregarded 

Beijing slams US over Hong Kong report and says basic facts disregarded 

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying says United States’ cancellation of Hong Kong’s ‘special status’ cannot hinder the city’s development and prosperity.

Beijing hit back at the United States on Thursday following the release of an annual report on Hong Kong, saying the Biden administration had disregarded basic facts and made irresponsible remarks on the city’s operations, and had seriously interfered in China’s internal affairs.

The remarks by Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying came a day after the publication of the US State Department’s Hong Kong Policy Act Report, sent annually to Congress, which includes a determination as to whether the city is sufficiently autonomous from mainland China to justify preferential economic relations.

Hong Kong did not warrant differential treatment under US law owing to the erosion of its autonomy by Beijing, the country’s top diplomat Antony Blinken determined.

Hours after Hua’s remarks at a daily press briefing in Beijing, the Hong Kong government also said it strongly objected to the report and that the city was an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China that enjoyed a high degree of autonomy under the “one country, two systems” framework.

Chinese Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying slammed the US.


The report highlighted the 99 arrests made under the national security law as of February. Among them were the arrests of 55 opposition politicians and activists who took part in an unofficial primary election last July to choose candidates for Legislative Council polls, which were subsequently put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Of those, 47 were charged with subversion in February. Authorities alleged they had taken part in a plot to seize control of the legislature with the ultimate aim of paralysing the government and toppling the city’s leader.

The report said the arrests were part of “repeated actions to restrict the ability of Hong Kong voters to elect their representatives” over the past year.

It also suggested Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, with Beijing’s backing, had falsely used the pretext of public health concerns to postpone the Legco elections last September “despite significantly fewer per capita cases of Covid-19 than in other nations and cities that have conducted elections safely during the pandemic”.

Announcing the report’s release, Blinken, the US secretary of state, said: “Over the past year, the People’s Republic of China has continued to dismantle Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy, in violation of its obligations under the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong’s Basic Law.”

The 1984 joint declaration paved the way for Hong Kong’s return from British to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 while the Basic Law is the city’s mini-constitution.

Blinken also said the Beijing-imposed national security law had “severely undermined” rights and freedoms in Hong Kong.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.


Beijing wasted no time in rebuking Washington over the report. China “firmly rejected” the claims made in the report, Hua said, adding that since the city’s return to the nation, the one country, two systems policy, “Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong” and the “high degree of autonomy” had been earnestly implemented.

The legitimate rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents had been fully protected, she said.

The US cancellation of Hong Kong’s so-called special status could not hinder the city’s development and prosperity, she added.

“The development achievements of Hong Kong today are the result of the hard work of several generations of Hong Kong people and the great advantage of having the motherland at its back, rather than a gift or charity from any foreign country,” she said.

A Hong Kong government spokesman said the policy act and sanctions imposed by Washington were clearly an interference in the country’s internal affairs on the pretext of human rights, democracy and autonomy.

Earlier this week, China’s top legislative body approved a major shake-up to Hong Kong’s political system, slashing the number of directly elected seats and ensuring more pro-Beijing representation in Legco, creating a powerful new post to head a more influential Election Committee, and setting up a vetting body to screen out candidates deemed to be unpatriotic.

Last year, for the first time since the handover, the Trump administration decertified Hong Kong’s special status and began peeling away its privileges, including an extradition treaty and export controls on dual-use technology.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×