HKSAR gov't firmly opposes any interference in sixth-term chief executive election

HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Thursday expressed strong opposition and indignation toward US social media company Google's termination of the election-related YouTube account of John Lee, candidate for HKSAR's sixth-term chief executive election.

A spokesperson for the HKSAR government said the government and all sectors of the Hong Kong society strongly opposed and expressed extreme outrage at any form of interference in the internal affairs of Hong Kong by foreign forces, which includes affecting the smooth holding of the HKSAR's sixth-term chief executive election through undermining the freedoms of speech and of information dissemination, as well as the fairness and impartiality of the internet.

"The so-called 'sanctions' imposed by the US are a blatant interference in the internal affairs of the People's Republic of China," the spokesperson said, stressing that the international community should fully acknowledge this fact.

The spokesperson stressed that the central government's improvement to the HKSAR's electoral system has provided a robust safeguard for fully implementing the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong."

The Election Committee's subsector ordinary elections and the Legislative Council (LegCo) election were successfully held in September and December 2021, respectively, and the HKSAR government will, as in the past, make every effort to ensure that the HKSAR's sixth-term chief executive election will be conducted successfully on May 8 in a fair, just and open manner, the spokesperson said.