Former British governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten's recent remarks on the anti-mask regulation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) have totally ignored the call in the city for stopping violence and the fact that the UK is a pioneer in banning masks, the Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR said Monday.
Patten's remarks on HKSAR's enactment of the Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation "have totally ignored the call of the majority of Hong Kong citizens for stopping violence and the chaos, and the fact that the UK is a pioneer in banning masks," said the spokesperson for the commissioner's office.
"We strongly condemn the remarks, which are full of hypocrisy, bigotry and ruthlessness and have fully exposed Chris Patten's true color," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said that the HKSAR government's enactment of the Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation is completely legal, reasonable, just and necessary.
Over the past four months as the masked protesters who carry out vandalism and violence have become progressively more daring in hiding their identities and evade the law, the Hong Kong government established an anti-mask law on October 5 in the latest move to try to end the prolonged violence.
The spokesperson emphasized that the HKSAR is part of China and its affairs are completely China's internal affairs. "We firmly support the HKSAR government in taking all necessary measures in accordance with law to stop violence, end the chaos and restore order.
"We again urge Chris Patten and his ilk to remove their black hand from Hong Kong affairs, give up their evil attempts to devastate the city, and stop such 'doomsday madness'."
