National security law: Beijing slams US ‘safe haven’ offer to Hongkongers as ‘plot to stir up trouble’, interference in city affairs

Name: US offers temporary ‘safe haven’ for Hongkongers in response to crackdown on opposition
Uploaded: 2021-08-06T03:41:53.000Z
Duration: 3 min 44 s
Description: US offers temporary ‘safe haven’ for Hongkongers in response to crackdown on opposition

Condemnation follows the Biden administration’s granting of 18-month window for Hong Kong residents to live and work in the US

Spokesman for Chinese foreign ministry in city says Beijing-imposed security legislation widely embraced by residents and international community

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China’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong argues that residents and the international community have been optimistic about the city’s future under the national security law. Photo: Warton Li

Tony CheungandChris Lau

Published: 11:41am, 6 Aug 2021Updated: 8:54pm, 7 Aug 2021

Beijing has strongly condemned the United States for its temporary offer of “safe haven” to Hongkongers, demanding Washington abandon a “plot to oppose China and stir up trouble in the city”.

The Chinese foreign ministry’s Hong Kong office on Friday said the move was doomed to fail, hours after US President Joe Biden signed an order allowing Hong Kong residents in his country to remain there in response to the crackdown on opposition lawmakers and activists following the imposition of the city’s national security law in June 2020.

“By offering so-called safe haven, it is trying to bad-mouth Hong Kong, smear China and engage in actions to destroy the city’s prosperity and stability,” a spokesman for the office said.

“Anti-China disruptions will definitely lead nowhere … We urge the US to stop immediately and abandon its scheme as soon as possible.”

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US offers temporary ‘safe haven’ for Hongkongers in response to crackdown on opposition

In a separate statement, the Hong Kong government objected to “baseless and purely politically oriented comments” from the US.

“Whether it is in a unitary or federal system, legislation on national security is invariably carried out by the central authorities rather than a local government,” a government spokesman said.