The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today strongly objected to the sweeping attacks and groundless accusations contained in the UK Six-monthly Report on Hong Kong released on November 23.

In a statement, the Hong Kong SAR Government urged the UK Government to uphold and respect the international protocol of refraining from interfering with the internal affairs of another country.

It reiterated that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Hong Kong affairs are internal matters of the PRC.

​​It also said the “one country, two systems” principle is still the best institutional arrangement to ensure Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability, adding that no one is more committed to “one country, two systems” than the Central People’s Government.

On June 30, 2020, the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee adopted The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It was hailed by some 2.9 million Hong Kong people as the turning point for Hong Kong to find a way out of the difficulties and to restore order from chaos.

Indeed, in the past few months since implementation of the national security law which was included in Annex III to the Basic Law for local promulgation, violence has significantly subsided and Hong Kong people could once again enjoy their basic rights and freedoms in accordance with the law.

Contrary to what the UK report alleged, the national security law does not conflict with Article 23 of the Basic Law; the Hong Kong SAR is still required to enact the national security legislation stipulated in the Basic Law at an early date.

​​Furthermore, out of respect for Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy, except in limited, specified circumstances, the Hong Kong SAR has jurisdiction over cases concerning offences under the national security law, such as investigation and enforcement by Police, prosecution by the Department of Justice, trial by Hong Kong’s independent judiciary and execution of penalty by relevant Hong Kong SAR agencies.

The Hong Kong SAR Government doubts such responsibilities would be delegated to a local government in the UK.

​​On the report’s criticism of the Hong Kong SAR Government’s decision to postpone the Legislative Council Elections by one year, the Hong Kong SAR Government said the UK Government has adopted double standards. 

On March 13, 2020, by invoking the emergency legislation - the UK Coronavirus Act, the UK Government postponed the local elections in England due to take place on May 7, 2020 for a year, as result of the then coronavirus outbreak.

In Hong Kong, the decision was made against the then assessed public health risks arising from over three million voters coming out to cast their vote on a day involving over 600 polling stations.

The postponement decision was announced on July 31, when the daily number of confirmed cases hit a record high the day before, and up till now, still represents the peak of Hong Kong’s epidemic.

​​On the report’s concern about the disqualification of LegCo candidates and incumbent members, the Hong Kong SAR Government said the report has again ignored the constitutional and legal requirement for people in public office, notably legislators, to uphold the oath they made in swearing allegiance to the Hong Kong SAR and upholding the Basic Law.

The Hong Kong SAR Government noted that swearing allegiance to the system of the country and upholding laws of the state is an international norm for public officers and any breach of the oath will not be tolerated.

In the UK, members of Parliament who refuse to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown cannot assume office. The disqualification done in accordance with the law has nothing to do with the right to freedom of speech or the democratic process.

​​The so-called response taken by the UK Government represents a breach of international obligations where it concerns extradition agreements to combat crimes and bilateral agreement with the PRC on the treatment of British National (Overseas).

The Hong Kong SAR Government also takes exception to the partial representation in the report of the stance of the international community.

At the 44th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, more than 70 countries expressed support for the enactment of the national security law by the NPC Standing Committee.

​​It is time for the UK Government to respect law-abiding Hong Kong people’s aspirations for stability and prosperity, and appreciate her well-positioned status to flourish under “one country, two systems” with the full and unreserved support of the Central People’s Government, the statement added.