China slams West remarks on Hong Kong at 25th handover anniversary
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Beijing criticizes comments made by Western officials on the special administrative region of Hong Kong, saying it does not allow for interferences in China's domestic policies.
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street, London, the United Kingdom
Beijing on Friday criticized remarks made by UK Prime Minister Boris Johson and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Hong Kong, with the Chinese Foreign Ministry saying they were in no position to comment on the city.
"Some Western countries seized this joyful occasion to make indiscreet remarks on the practice of ‘one country, two systems; in Hong Kong and the city's affairs, which are purely China's internal affairs," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said, referring to the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover.
"China is firmly opposed to this and strongly condemns it," Zhao said. "Any attempt to discredit the successful practice of 'one country, two systems' is futile."
The criticism of the West was accompanied by a letter of congratulations from Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to Chinese President Xi Jinping on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the handover and establishment of the Hong Kong special administrative region on Friday.
Lee praised the "one country, two systems" practice, saying the city benefitted from and contributed to mainland China's growth and development.
"I am confident Hong Kong will continue to thrive in the years ahead, and benefit from the many economic opportunities created by its close integration with the mainland," the letter read.
The system itself came to life as part of the Sino-British Joint Declaration that saw the United Kingdom withdrawing from Hong Kong in 1977, granting Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy upon its return to Chinese sovereignty.
Top British, European, and US officials had claimed that China had failed to comply with its commitment to respect its agreement with London.
"On the 25th anniversary of the handover, we simply cannot avoid the fact that, for some time now, Beijing has been failing to comply with its obligations," Johnson said in a video clip posted on Twitter. "We're not giving up on Hong Kong. Twenty-five years ago, we made a promise to the territory and its people, and we intend to keep it. Doing all we can to hold China to its commitments, so that Hong Kong is once again run by the people of Hong Kong, for the people of Hong Kong."
25 years ago we made a promise to the people of Hong Kong.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 30, 2022
We intend to keep it. pic.twitter.com/nIN96ZydgV
The 1984 Joint Declaration saw Beijing promising that it would not make any changes to Hong Kong's capitalist system and lifestyle for the next 50 years, though Chinese officials have been saying as of late that the declaration was a "historical document" that was no longer biding.
Britain had "no sovereignty, no governing power, and no supervising power" over Hong Kong after the handover, Zhao said, dismissing Johnson's comments.
In 2019, Beijing wrote into law a bill allowing for the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China. The central government then imposed a national security law on the city.
The law was enacted in July 2020, and Beijing says it has restored stability and would help Hong Kong prosper.
Blinken criticized the law on Thursday, saying the national security law "set the stage for an erosion of autonomy and dismantling of the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents over the last two years [...] We stand in solidarity with people in Hong Kong and reinforce their calls for their promised freedoms to be reinstated."
Zhao, however, said critics such as Britain should "face up to the reality that Hong Kong has been reunited with the motherland for 25 years and have an objective and fair view of Hong Kong's development."
"No interference in China's internal affairs can succeed, and no external force can stop the steady and long-term progress of 'one country, two systems' and Hong Kong's prosperity and stability," he underlined.
