HONG KONG – Hong Kong on Saturday “firmly rejected” findings in a brand new US authorities report that stated US pursuits had been threatened and that Beijing continued to “undermine” the rule of regulation and freedoms within the territory underneath a nationwide safety crackdown.
The US’ 2023 Hong Kong Policy Act Report, revealed by the US State Department, stated Chinese and Hong Kong authorities “continued to use ‘national security’ as a broad and vague basis to undermine the rule of law and protected rights and freedoms.”
China imposed a nationwide safety regulation on Hong Kong in June 2020 with none native legislative or consultative course of, outlawing crimes resembling subversion with potential life imprisonment.
Authorities say the regulation restored order after protracted pro-democracy protests in 2019, that known as for, amongst different calls for, full democracy.
The metropolis’s harder safety routine mirrors mainland China, the place Chinese chief Xi Jinping has carried out a fierce crackdown on dissent over the previous decade, jailing critics and rights defenders.
“Hong Kong authorities continued to arrest and prosecute people for peaceful political expression critical of the local and central governments, including for posting and forwarding social media posts,” the US report stated.
A Hong Kong authorities spokesman, nevertheless, stated in a press release that it “strongly disapproved of and firmly rejected the unfounded and fact-twisting remarks” within the report.
“The US’ attempt to undermine the stability and prosperity of Hong Kong will only expose its own weakness and faulty arguments and be doomed to fail.”
The spokesman added the safeguarding of nationwide safety was of “cardinal importance” and all persons are equal underneath the regulation no matter political stance or background.
Over 230 folks have been arrested for alleged acts endangering nationwide safety since 2020, together with 47 distinguished democrats now battling subversion conspiracy costs in a landmark trial that can proceed for a number of months.
The US report additionally famous a drop within the variety of US residents in Hong Kong from 85,000 in 2021 to round 70,000 resulting from numerous components together with tight COVID restrictions and nationwide safety.
China “increasingly exercised police and security power in Hong Kong, subjecting US citizens who are publicly critical of the PRC (China) to a heightened risk of arrest, detention, expulsion, or prosecution in Hong Kong,” the report wrote, including these dangers had been highlighted in its authorities journey advisories for Hong Kong.
Forty of the 100 US senators co-sponsored a decision earlier this month urging a powerful US authorities response to any Chinese efforts to clamp down on dissent in Hong Kong, together with the usage of sanctions and different instruments. —Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
