Meddling by UK, Japan strongly opposed

China expressed dissatisfaction with and opposition to the United Kingdom and Japan on Thursday for interfering in Hong Kong affairs after officials from the two countries made irresponsible remarks on the closure of the Apple Daily newspaper in Hong Kong.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a daily news conference that freedom of the press did not grant a right to acting with impunity and that "those anti-China forces who seek to disrupt Hong Kong cannot override the law".

Hong Kong is a society that abides by the rule of law, not somewhere beyond the reach of law, Zhao said.

China will never accept false accusations and irresponsible remarks about Hong Kong-related affairs, Zhao said.

The central government administers the special administrative region on the basis of China's Constitution and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, not the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the spokesman said.

In place of caring about freedom of the press and of speech, the UK's real intention is to meddle in Hong Kong's politics, Zhao said.

Certain UK individuals' attempt to use Hong Kong as a tool to exert pressure on China is doomed to fail, he said.

They should do things that can promote prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and that are conducive to China-UK ties, he added.

The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in the HKSAR called on Thursday for anti-China politicians in the US and some other Western countries to stop using freedom of the press as a pretext, because China doesn't buy it.

In response to a statement from the European External Action Service on the closure of the Apple Daily newspaper, a spokesperson for the Chinese Mission to the European Union urged the EU to stop meddling in China's internal affairs under any pretext.

The Hong Kong Police Force's actions against individuals and companies suspected of endangering national security are just efforts to combat crime and uphold law and order, and they have nothing to do with press freedom.

At Thursday's news briefing, Zhao said that China would take all necessary measures to safeguard the legitimate interests of Chinese companies, after the United States restricted exports to five Chinese companies over supposed human rights violations.

China strongly condemns the US actions against Chinese enterprises based on lies and disinformation, Zhao said, adding that claims of "so-called forced labor and ethnic genocide are the lies of the century".

The US, citing such lies, misused its entity list－of companies to be shunned－to suppress the silicon industry, committing not only a breach of norms of international trade and principles of market economy, but also damaging global industrial and supply chains, he said.

The US moves jeopardized the rights to life and development of people in Xinjiang and also exposed the true intentions of the US, he said.

Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng also expressed on Thursday opposition to the US actions against Xinjiang industries and urged Washington to immediately correct its wrongdoings.

Zhao Jia contributed to this story.