US report on Hong Kong lays bare the ‘evil intentions of anti-China forces’, foreign ministry office says

‘We again urge the relevant American politicians to immediately stop meddling’ in city’s affairs, office of the commissioner of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong
Statement repeats Beijing’s claim that US is the ‘black hand behind the chaos’ in the city

Hong Kong protests

Keegan Elmerin Beijing

Published: 3:54pm, 16 Nov 2019

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China’s foreign ministry representative in Hong Kong said on Friday that an annual report by a US congressional commission that monitors the national security implications of US-China relations “laid bare the evil intention of anti-China forces”.

“We again urge the relevant American politicians to immediately stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs,” the office of the commissioner of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong said in a statement.

“China’s territory is not somewhere foreign forces can run wild.”

The statement came in response to the publication of a report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which said the US should suspend Hong Kong’s special economic status if Beijing used its military to intervene in the troubled city.

China expressed its “strong disapproval” and “firm opposition” to the report, saying it “grossly distorted the truth, made unwarranted remarks on Hong Kong … and pointed fingers at China’s internal affairs as a whole”.

“The report has provided more solid evidence that the anti-China forces in the US are exactly the black hand behind the chaos in Hong Kong, who have been caught on the spot,” the statement said, adding that the US report “laid bare the evil intentions of anti-China forces in the US”.

It did not, however, provide any evidence to support its claims.

After five months of demonstrations and violent clashes in Hong Kong, US lawmakers in Washington have accused Beijing of undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy.

Earlier in the week US Senator Josh Hawley said the “one country, two systems” model – by which Hong Kong maintains a degree of independence from mainland China – was at risk and that the city was in danger of “sliding into a police state”.

He blamed Hong Kong police for escalating the conflict by their excessive use of force but also urged protesters to refrain from the use of violence.

On Thursday, the US Senate initiated a “hotline” process to expedite the passage of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which would require the president’s signature before passing into law.

The bill would require the US secretary of state to conduct an annual review of whether Hong Kong had enough autonomy to maintain its special status for US trading.

Additional reporting by Reuters

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Beijing decries ‘evil intentions of anti-China forces’

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