The office of the commissioner of the Chinese foreign ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Tuesday strongly rejected the so-called statement issued by Britain and some other members of the "Media Freedom Coalition".
The office firmly rejected the so-called statement which slandered Hong Kong's press freedom and smeared the HKSAR government's law enforcement activities, said a spokesperson of the office.
"The historical trend of Hong Kong's transition from chaos to stability and prosperity is irreversible, and any attempt to interfere with Hong Kong affairs and exert pressure on us in the name of press freedom is doomed to failure," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson noted that the HKSAR Basic Law and the national security law in Hong Kong safeguard lawful rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents, including freedom of speech and the press.
Since the implementation of the national security law in Hong Kong, Hong Kong's social stability has been restored, development has returned to the right track, freedom of the press has been better protected in a safe, stable and law-based environment, and the number of international media and journalists in Hong Kong has further increased, the spokesperson said.
However, some external forces, including the "Media Freedom Coalition", have turned a blind eye to the good administration in the HKSAR and the facts of Hong Kong's well-developed media sector and free flow of information, the spokesperson said.
They teamed up to vilify Hong Kong's freedom of the press, interfered with the rule of law in Hong Kong, and supported anti-China elements, which fully exposed their intention of creating chaos in Hong Kong, the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson pointed out that members of the so-called "Media Freedom Coalition" are not templates for press freedom.
"Some of them forcibly shut down news websites, suppressed media and journalists in other countries, and frequently prevented journalists from participating in government public activities," the spokesperson said.
In the United States alone, at least 117 journalists were arrested or detained in 2020, and 148 were arrested or attacked in the week after the death of George Floyd, the spokesperson said.
Noting that Hong Kong is part of China and Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs, the spokesperson said China is determined to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests and to fully and faithfully implement the principle of "one country, two systems."
The spokesperson urged relevant countries and groups to recognize the facts, respect the general trend, abide by international law and basic norms governing international relations, and immediately stop interfering in China's internal affairs including Hong Kong affairs under any pretext.
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