Pompeo remarks reveal ulterior motives: spokesperson

The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region yesterday firmly opposed and refuted the statement by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who claimed that the national security legislation for Hong Kong would undermine its autonomy and freedoms.

The accusations are smears and distortion of “one country, two systems,” the spokesperson of the office said, noting that legislating on national security is within the power and the obligation of the central authorities.

The legislation targets only a few acts and activities endangering national security. It will not affect the high degree of autonomy of Hong Kong or residents’ rights and freedoms enshrined in the law. It will not affect foreign investors’ legitimate rights and interests, the spokesperson said.

On the contrary, it will refine the legal system of Hong Kong, uphold social order and facilitate the practice of “one country, two systems” and Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability in the long run.

The spokesperson pointed out that it is utterly imperious, unreasonable and shameless for some in the United States to stigmatize and demonize China’s just and legitimate measures to plug the loopholes in national security, and even threaten with sanctions based on their domestic law, while they go all out to reinforce their own national security legal system at all times.

“By openly interfering in Hong Kong affairs, which are purely China’s internal affairs, and trampling international law and basic norms governing international relations, they have laid bare their double standards and gangster logic,” the spokesperson said.

The statement by the US side claimed that it has seen Hong Kong “for decades as a bastion of liberty,” and suggested it hoped the Hong Kong “model” would change the social system of the Chinese mainland, the spokesperson noted.

“It is solid evidence for their ulterior motives to play Hong Kong as a card and use it as a frontier for secession, subversion, infiltration and sabotage activities against the mainland. It also proves exactly the great urgency for the National People’s Congress to decide on enacting national security legislation for Hong Kong so as to close the loopholes in this regard,” said the spokesperson.

“We urge the US side to abide by international law and basic norms governing international relations, and immediately stop meddling with Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs as a whole,” the spokesperson said.