March 11, 2024
HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on Sunday strongly condemned anti-China organisation the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation for requesting the United States to impose so-called “sanctions” on the officials of the central government and the HKSAR.
The HKSAR government said in a statement that the group’s call for sanctions against officials taking part in the Basic Law Article 23 legislation and its smearing of the Safeguarding National Security Bill may constitute “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security” under the National Security Law for Hong Kong.
“The CFHK Foundation attempted to collude with a foreign country or with external elements, and blatantly clamored at this juncture for so-called ‘sanctions’ against dutiful officials of the central and HKSAR governments with a view to intimidating them,” an HKSAR government spokesman was quoted as saying in the statement.
He said the foundation completely ignored the due legislative procedures of the HKSAR, pointing out that the bill is now under scrutiny by the Bills Committee of the Legislative Council.
The LegCo officially started deliberating the draft of the city’s national security ordinance on Friday, after it was gazetted and submitted by the government that morning.
The spokesman also noted that wanted person Hui Wing-ting is a core member of the CFHK Foundation and it has initiated a number of anti-China campaigns, including requesting the closure of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in the US.
The foundation’s earlier claim emphasizing that it was not anti-China is obviously untrue, the spokesman said, adding that members of the public should “discern facts from fallacies”.
He said the foundation’s actions also showed the necessity of the measures in the bill proposing to target absconders charged with offenses endangering national security and to protect persons handling cases or work concerning national security.
“As a matter of fact, the bill has stipulated that one of the fundamental principles in legislating for safeguarding national security is to respect and protect human rights,” the spokesman said.
“It expressly provides that the rights and freedoms enjoyed under the Basic Law and the provisions of the two international covenants on human rights as applied to the HKSAR, are to be protected in accordance with the law,” he added.
The spokesman said the HKSAR government will continue to safeguard national security fearlessly and complete the legislative work as soon as possible.
“The earlier we complete the legislative work, the sooner we can guard against national security risks,” he added.