HONG KONG: The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Thursday responded to comments in the U.S. 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices by reiterating that foreign governments should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs of the HKSAR.
Since Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, the HKSAR has been exercising “Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong” and a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law of the HKSAR, and the “one country, two systems” principle has been fully and successfully implemented, said a spokesman of the HKSAR government.
“Safeguarding human rights and freedoms is a constitutional duty of the HKSAR government. The government attaches the utmost importance to and is firmly committed to upholding human rights and various freedoms in Hong Kong,” the spokesman said.
“Article 4 of the Basic Law states that the HKSAR shall safeguard the rights and freedoms of the residents of the HKSAR and of other persons in the region in accordance with law. In addition to the Basic Law, human rights and freedoms in Hong Kong are fully protected by the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance and other legislation,” he added.
The spokesman pointed out that rights and freedoms in Hong Kong are underpinned by the rule of law and judicial independence, which are the cornerstones of HKSAR’s common law system and are well-recognized internationally. “The over 54,000 peaceful public assemblies and processions held between 2014 and May 2019 most strongly testify to this commitment.”
“Since June 2019, over 1,400 public demonstrations, processions and public meetings were held, but many ended in serious violence such as hurling of petrol bombs, burning or vandalizing of shops and so on,” the spokesman said, stressing that the degree and extent of violence committed by radical protesters was unprecedented in Hong Kong, and it has seriously endangered people’s personal safety, public order and security.
“Faced with this situation, the Hong Kong police is duty-bound to take appropriate actions, including the use of necessary force, to restore law and order. In the process, police officers also faced threats of serious injuries or even death,” the spokesman said, adding that for complaints against the police, they will be handled professionally and impartially under a well-established mechanism. The spokesman emphasized that whilst the HKSAR government has steadfastly safeguarded the freedom of speech and freedom of peaceful assembly, but as in other jurisdictions, such freedoms are not absolute. “The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that restrictions might be imposed by law if this is necessary to protect, amongst others, national security, public safety, public order or the rights and freedoms of others.” – Agencies
