Reports of 'infiltrated' consulates slammed

The Foreign Ministry slammed on Tuesday reports by British and Australian media that members of the Communist Party of China have "infiltrated" institutions of some Western countries, saying that such claims are ridiculous and untenable.

The reports refer to the United States, United Kingdom and Australian consulates in Shanghai and some foreign companies.

"For certain anti-China individuals, they stoke up nothing but their hysterical quest to tarnish and discredit the CPC," Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said at a daily news conference.

It is another remake of the China Threat theory, he added.

Countries should observe basic norms governing international relations and respect each other's systems and national conditions in their exchanges, he said.

Wang said that he thinks anyone thinking rationally and who had a sense of conscience and justice would not agree with the groundless smears and attacks against China and the CPC.

Also at the briefing, Wang urged the United Kingdom to let go of a colonial mindset and abandon double standards, and also to respect the judicial authorities of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government as they fulfill their duties.

Wang made the remarks after British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Monday that the National Security Law for Hong Kong was used to charge Jimmy Lai Chee-ying. Officials said Lai is an instigator of the Hong Kong riots and was arrested on charges of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security.

Raab said the charges against Lai highlighted China's "attacks on the rights and freedoms of its people".

The UK is interfering in Hong Kong affairs and undermining the city's rule of law under the guise of so-called democracy and freedom, which is the typical double standard used for the aim of making troubles for other countries, Wang said.

The UK has no right of supervision nor moral obligation regarding Hong Kong, he said, adding that London should respect the aspiration of Hong Kong citizens for a stable social order and normal life, and respect the fact that Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China and the principle of noninterference in the internal affairs of other countries.