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October 17, 2019

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China vows to take strong measures after US House passes bill on HK

CHINA will take forceful countermeasures against the US for its wrong decision in passing the so-called Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act 2019 in order to firmly safeguard its own sovereignty, security and development interests, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

In Washington on Tuesday, the US House of Representatives passed the bill that requests that various government departments consider whether recent political developments in Hong Kong require the US to change the region’s special trading status.

What Hong Kong faces at present is not the so-called human rights and democracy issues, but the issue of ending violence and chaos, restoring order and upholding the rule of law as soon as possible, spokesperson Geng Shuang said in the statement.

By neglecting the truth and turning white to black, the US House of Representatives called arson, smashing of shops, and violently assaulting police officers as human rights and freedom, which is a stark double standard that fully exposes some Americans’ extreme hypocrisy on human rights and democracy and their malicious intentions to damage the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and contain China’s development, Geng said.

“Should the act eventually come into law, it will not only harm the interests of China and the China-US relations, but also severely undermine the interests of the United States,” Geng said.

China will definitely take forceful countermeasures against the wrong decision of the US side in order to firmly safeguard its own sovereignty, security and development interests, the spokesperson said.

“Hong Kong belongs to China and its affairs are purely China’s domestic affairs that brook no foreign interference,” he reiterated.

“We advise the US side to get a clear understanding of the situation, rein in on the brink of the precipice immediately, and cease to promote the subsequent deliberation of the act and interfere in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs immediately,” Geng said.

The Hong Kong government yesterday expressed regret over the bill. A spokesman of the HKSAR government said as the best arrangement for maintaining Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability and for making Hong Kong a favorable place to live and work in, the “one country, two systems” principle has been fully and successfully implemented in Hong Kong since its return to the motherland.

The HKSAR has been exercising “Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong” and a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law of the HKSAR of the People’s Republic of China, the spokesman said in a statement.

Human rights and freedoms in Hong Kong are fully protected by the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance and other legislation, in addition to the Basic Law, the spokesman said, stressing the HKSAR government attaches great importance to human rights and freedoms and is determined to safeguard them because it’s a constitutional duty of the HKSAR government.

Article 4 of the Basic Law stipulates that the HKSAR shall safeguard the rights and freedoms of the residents of the HKSAR and of other persons in the HKSAR in accordance with the law. Also, the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force.

Chief Executive of the HKSAR Carrie Lam announced on September 4 that the HKSAR government would formally withdraw the amendments concerning the transfer of fugitive offenders, the spokesman said.

Over the past few months, violent protests and illegal incidents have caused damage to district and community facilities as well as injury to members of the public, according to the spokesman.

In response, the Hong Kong police have been exercising restraint and carrying out enforcement actions in strict accordance with the law to protect the life and property of the general public, bring offenders to justice and restore public order as soon as possible, the spokesman said.

The Independent Police Complaints Council is conducting a fact-finding study on the handling of large-scale public order events since June, including corresponding actions by the police, to ascertain the facts and will prepare a report that will be made public, the spokesman said.

Concerning constitutional development and universal suffrage, the community needs to engage in dialogues.




 

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