‘Political manipulation and double standards’: China slams Washington’s criticism of Hong Kong’s coming national security law
- Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning says US ‘threw dirty water’ on Hong Kong’s proposed legislation while having many national security laws itself
- US State Department was ‘particularly concerned’ by the proposal to adopt ‘broad and vague definitions’ of ‘state secrets’ and ‘external interference’
China’s foreign ministry on Friday slammed Washington for its “political manipulation and hypocritical double standards” after it said “vaguely defined provisions” of Hong Kong’s domestic national security legislation would undermine the “one country, two systems” framework.
Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning rebutted the statement issued by the United States on Thursday about the city’s public consultation for the new legislation, which is mandated under Article 23 of the Basic Law and set to sit alongside the 2020 Beijing-imposed national security law.
“China expresses strong disapproval and firm objection to the relevant US statement,” she said. “It is the constitutional responsibility of the Hong Kong SAR to complete the legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law and plug the loopholes in safeguarding national security.
“It is also an inevitable requirement to achieve long-term peace and stability in Hong Kong and the long-term stability of ‘one country, two systems’ [governing principle].”
She criticised the US for its “political manipulation and hypocritical double standards,” saying it “threw dirty water and labelled” the city’s legislation while having many national security laws itself.