Secretary for Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, Paul Lam Ting-kwok, delivers a speech during the Hong Kong Legal Week 2024 in Hong Kong on Nov 8, 2024. (Photo by Adam Lam/China Daily)
Chinese central government and Hong Kong officials on Tuesday condemned the United States for imposing sanctions on six mainland and Hong Kong officials, accusing Washington of using hegemonic "bullying" tactics.
On Monday local time, the U.S. government announced sanctions on six Chinese officials, groundlessly alleging they have been using national security laws to undermine Hong Kong's autonomy.
The officials sanctioned are Dong Jingwei, director of the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR; Paul Lam Ting-kwok, secretary for justice; Raymond Siu Chak-yee, commissioner of police; Sonny Au Chik-wong, secretary-general of the Committee for Safeguarding National Security of the HKSAR; and two assistant police commissioners in charge of national security affairs, Dick Wong Chung-chun and Margaret Chiu Wing-lan.
The number of HKSAR government officials sanctioned by the U.S. in the past five years has reached 17, including Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.
In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun lashed out at the sanctions at a regular news conference on Tuesday afternoon, saying such despicable acts constitute serious interference in HKSAR affairs and China's internal affairs, and grossly tramples on the principles of international law and the basic norms of international relations.
Guo said the Hong Kong Police Force has lawfully taken action against anti-China agitators who fled overseas, while the SAR's judicial authorities independently and impartially handle national security cases in accordance with the law — all fully compliant with international law and common practice, which the U.S. has no grounds to interfere in.
He stressed that Hong Kong affairs are purely the nation's internal affairs, urging the U.S. to abide by the principles of international law and fundamental norms of international relations, and immediately cease all forms of interference in Hong Kong SAR affairs and China's internal matters.
The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR also condemned the U.S., branding its so-called "Hong Kong Policy Act Report" as "full of lies" and a "malicious distortion of Hong Kong's rule of law and freedoms under 'one country, two systems'".
"China will take resolute measures to counter this reckless U.S. interference," the commissioner's office said. "HKSAR affairs are purely China's internal matters that brook no foreign interference. Any external intervention is doomed to fail!"
It urged the U.S. to strictly adhere to the principles of international law and fundamental norms of international relations, and immediately cease all forms of interference in the internal affairs of China.
The Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR also sternly warned that any external forces attempting to interfere with Hong Kong's national security efforts will not succeed, urging the U.S. to immediately abandon its bullying tactics.
A spokesperson for the office emphasized that with high-level security safeguards, Hong Kong is destined to achieve higher-quality development and greater openness. Meanwhile, the U.S.' repeated unreasonable unilateral sanctions against Hong Kong remain worthless and cannot stop its inevitable march toward prosperity.
The HKSAR government said the latest move by the U.S. has once again clearly exposed its "barbarity and hegemony" by using exactly the same bullying and coercion tactics it has employed in other countries and regions.
HKSAR officials will continue to resolutely discharge their duties in safeguarding national security, and the government will make every effort to protect the legitimate rights and interests of all personnel, a government spokesperson said.
Lam, one of the sanctioned officials, told reporters that the measures are "unjustified" and "completely ineffective", and are a violation of international law.
The justice secretary criticized the U.S. government's unilateral sanctions, saying they are aimed at intimidating people who are safeguarding national security and are blatantly in breach of the basic principles of international relations, representing nothing more than hegemonic bullying.
The best response to such measures is to remain resolute and united in the face of the threats and remain determined to safeguard national security and interests, as well as Hong Kong's stability and prosperity, Lam said.
On Tuesday afternoon, dozens of members from Hong Kong's largest political party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, staged a protest outside the consulate general of the United States in Hong Kong.
The party's vice-chair Brave Chan Yung denounced the sanctions and the policy report as unlawful interference in China's internal affairs, demanding an immediate end to such political manipulation.
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