December 14, 2023
HONG KONG – The central and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region governments lashed out at France and Germany on Wednesday for giving a so-called award to a Hong Kong lawyer who has been charged with violating the National Security Law for Hong Kong.
A spokesperson of the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR, in a statement, expressed strong disapproval and firm rejection, cautioning the countries involved to immediately stop trampling on the rule of law in the HKSAR using the name of democracy and human rights.
Hong Kong operates under the rule of law, and the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents are fully protected by the law. However, no rights or freedoms can cross the boundaries set by the law, and no one is above the law, said the spokesperson
Hong Kong operates under the rule of law, and the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents are fully protected by the law. However, no rights or freedoms can cross the boundaries set by the law, and no one is above the law, said the spokesperson.
The office was responding to a move by the French and German foreign ministries, which named barrister Chow Hang-tung as one of the winners of the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, and a meeting between Britain’s foreign secretary and the son of former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, during which the UK politician smeared Hong Kong’s NSL.
“Individuals like Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and Chow Hang-tung, who have long engaged in anti-China and disruptive activities in the HKSAR and colluded with external forces to undermine national security, should be ashamed of their actions and be subject to legal consequences,” the spokesperson noted, stressing that countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany are blatantly prioritizing their political agendas over the rule of law in Hong Kong.
Emphasizing that the HKSAR’s affairs are purely China’s internal affairs, the spokesperson urged the countries involved to face their own problems, stop playing geopolitical tricks and bring under permanent control their obsession with intervening in the HKSAR’s affairs and China’s internal affairs.
The HKSAR government said in a statement on Wednesday that it firmly rejects the “human rights and rule of law” prize being awarded to Chow.
Chow has been charged with one count of incitement of subversion. The case is pending trial at the Court of First Intance of the High Court, said a spokesperson for the HKSAR government.
“The judicial proceedings of the case are still ongoing, yet the French and German foreign ministries awarded the so-called ‘prize’ to Chow in the name of ‘human rights’ and ‘rule of law’. Such action clearly goes against the spirit of respecting the rule of law,” the spokesperson continued.
“The HKSAR government strongly urges these countries to respect the rule of law, abide by international law and basic norms of international relations, and immediately stop interfering in the HKSAR’s affairs.”