Hong Kong on Saturday “strongly rejected” findings in a new US government report that said US interests had been threatened and that Beijing continued to “undermine” the territory’s rule of law and freedoms in a crackdown on national security.
The 2023 US report on the Hong Kong Act, released by the US State Department, said Chinese and Hong Kong authorities “continued to use ‘national security’ as a broad and vague basis to undermine the rule of law and protected rights and freedoms.”
China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in June 2020 without any local legislative or consultative process, outlawing crimes such as subversion with possible life imprisonment.
Authorities say the law restored order after protracted pro-democracy protests in 2019, which demanded full democracy among other demands.
The city’s tighter security regime mirrors that of mainland China, where Chinese leader Xi Jinping has cracked down on dissent and jailed critics and rights activists over the past decade.
“Hong Kong authorities continued to arrest and prosecute people for peaceful political expression critical of the local and central governments, including posting and forwarding posts on social media,” the US report said.
However, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong government said in a statement that it “strongly disapproves of and strongly rejects the baseless and fact-distorting remarks” in the report.
“The US attempt to undermine Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity will only expose its own weakness and flawed arguments and will be doomed to failure.”
The spokesman added that protecting national security was of “primary importance” and all people were equal under the law, regardless of political affiliation or background.
Since 2020, more than 230 people have been arrested for alleged acts threatening national security, including 47 prominent Democrats who are now fighting subversion conspiracy charges in a landmark trial that will continue for several months.
The US report also noted a drop in the number of US citizens in Hong Kong from 85,000 in 2021 to around 70,000 due to a number of factors, including strict COVID and national security restrictions.
China “continued to exercise police and security powers in Hong Kong, putting US citizens who are publicly critical of the PRC (China) at increased risk of arrest, detention, deportation or prosecution in Hong Kong,” the report said, adding those risks. has been highlighted in its government travel advisories for Hong Kong.
Forty of 100 US senators backed a resolution earlier this month urging a strong response from the US government to any Chinese efforts to suppress dissent in Hong Kong, including the use of sanctions and other tools.
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