Hong Kong SAR rejects 10-nation joint statement on Huang Zhifeng case
Hong Kong SAR government issued a strong rebuttal to a joint statement by 10 countries criticising the sentencing of Huang Zhifeng, insisting the case was handled independently and lawfully under the Hong Kong National Security Law.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) government has issued a strongly worded statement rejecting what it described as a distorted and defamatory joint statement by 10 countries on the sentencing of Huang Zhifeng in the “conspiracy and collusion case”. The SAR government expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the statement from the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
A spokesman for the SAR government said the joint statement disregarded facts, openly interfered with the SAR’s lawful exercise of judicial power and independent adjudication, and maliciously disparaged the Hong Kong National Security Law. The SAR government strongly urged the countries concerned to immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, which are China’s internal affairs.
The spokesman noted that Huang Zhifeng had admitted to committing the offence of “conspiracy to collude with a foreign or external force to endanger national security” under the Hong Kong National Security Law. The SAR court, the spokesman said, strictly followed legal provisions and judicial procedures, and based its sentencing on objective facts and sufficient evidence, independently and fairly, fully reflecting the rule of law in Hong Kong.
According to the spokesman, international law based on the United Nations Charter affirms that every sovereign state has the inherent right and international practice to enact national security laws. Many Western countries, including Britain and the United States, have extensive and stringent national security legal systems. The spokesman condemned any external force using individual cases to launch unwarranted attacks on Hong Kong’s rule of law and judicial system, or attempting to exert political pressure to disrupt the SAR’s lawful work in safeguarding national security, calling such actions a display of hypocritical double standards that are extremely ugly and contemptible.
The SAR government urged the countries concerned to stop issuing irresponsible and misleading statements, and to cease any form of interference in the judicial proceedings of the Hong Kong SAR and in Hong Kong affairs, which are China’s internal matters. It added that any attempt to undermine the SAR government’s resolve to safeguard national security would be futile and would never succeed.