‘UK report on Hong Kong inaccurate and biased’: Govt

HONG KONG, Jun 12, 2020, RTHK. The Hong Kong government has dismissed a six-monthly report on the SAR by the UK government as containing “inaccurate and biased” remarks on the future national security law and the city’s high degree of autonomy, RTHK reported.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said in a report published on Thursday that the public unrest in Hong Kong could not be seen purely as a security and economic issue, that any solution to the unrest must come from the SAR itself and not from Beijing, and he urged China to reconsider the new security law.

In a statement published on Friday, a government spokesperson said the national security law will strengthen and not undermine One Country, Two Systems.

It will have no impact on the rights and freedoms enjoyed by people iof Hong Kong, and will ensure the long-term prosperity and stability of the SAR, the statement said.

“The emergence of incidents involving explosives and firearms has posed risks of terrorism, seriously jeopardising public safety.”

“In addition, organisations advocating ‘Hong Kong independence’ and ‘self-determination’, allegedly supported by foreign or external forces, have incited protesters, especially young people, to challenge the authority of the central authorities and the HKSAR Government,” it continued.

The statement ends by saying that the SAR has “a well-established and fair criminal judicial system”, and that decisions to prosecute are not based on the political beliefs or backgrounds of the persons involved.