HONG KONG, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- Office of the Commissioner of Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Tuesday warned some U.S. politicians against interfering in Hong Kong affairs.
"Some U.S. politicians have clung to the Cold War mentality, hegemonic thinking and the zero-sum bias, confounded right with wrong, and grossly interfered in China's internal affairs by making irresponsible comments. We strongly deplore and firmly oppose it," said a spokesperson of the commissioner's office.
The remarks were made in response to a U.S. politician who again interfered in Hong Kong affairs despite China's firm opposition and threatened with the trade deal in his speech at the Detroit Economic Club on Aug. 19, according to the spokesperson.
Over the past 22 years since Hong Kong's return, China's central government has remained committed to the policies of "one country, two systems," "the people of Hong Kong governing Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy in the HKSAR, in strict accordance with the Constitution and the Basic Law, the spokesperson said, adding that Hong Kong residents are enjoying unprecedented rights and freedoms, and Hong Kong ranked 16th in 2018 for its rule of law performance, higher than that of the United States and up from below 60th in 1996.
The rule of law, as a core value Hong Kong people are proud of and a cornerstone for Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, shall not be trampled upon, damaged or smeared by any foreign forces, said the spokesperson.
The Sino-British Joint Declaration is an important document between China and Britain about China's resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and arrangements for the transitional period, the spokesperson said, stressing that no single clause in it has granted Britain the right to meddle with Hong Kong affairs after its return, and all clauses concerning Britain have been fulfilled.
"As a bilateral document, it involves no third country. According to international law, other countries and organizations have no right to interfere with Hong Kong affairs on the pretext of the document. Any attempt to cite it as an excuse for meddling with Hong Kong affairs is futile and doomed to fail," the spokesperson said.
"Hong Kong is part of China, and its affairs are completely China's internal affairs. We are firmly against attempts by any country to play Hong Kong's prosperity and stability and the well-being of over 7 million Hong Kong residents as a bargaining chip. No country should ever expect China to trade off its territorial sovereignty and national unity," said the spokesperson.
The commissioner's office strongly urges the relevant countries and politicians to learn basic international law and norms governing international relations, immediately stop making irresponsible remarks, and refrain from meddling with Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs as a whole.
