Beijing hits back at Western criticism of Hong Kong court’s hefty sentences for Jimmy Lai, opposition figures
- Central government’s foreign affairs office in Hong Kong blasts the “unreasonable accusations” and “malicious smearing” by foreign politicians
- The foreign criticism centred on verdicts handed down last Friday jailing several opposition figures for their involvement in unauthorised protests in 2019
Beijing’s foreign affairs office in Hong Kong on Sunday blasted what it called the “unreasonable accusations” and “malicious smearing” by some politicians in the United States, Britain and the European Union, saying they were attacking the rule of law both in the city and in the world at large.
“Some foreign forces have always talked about the rule of law, but they have repeatedly glorified criminals as ‘democracy fighters’, obstructed Hong Kong’s judiciary from handling the case in accordance with the law and placed politics above the city’s law,” a spokesman for the office said.
“[This] has fully exposed their double standards in cherry-picking the international rules to their liking.”
The spokesman urged the countries involved to stay out of Hong Kong issues and China’s internal affairs, and to ditch their “hypocritical double standards” and stop harbouring criminals.