G7's political arrogance on full display: China Daily editorial

There was a time, not so long ago, when some members-elect of the Hong Kong Legislative Council displayed banners reading "Hong Kong independence" at their swearing-in ceremony. They were later disqualified for their show of contempt to their office, the special administrative region and the motherland.

There was a time, not so long ago, at the height of the rioting that convulsed Hong Kong, when residents would not dare to express their patriotism for fear of being victims of verbal, even physical violence.

There was a time, not so long ago, when the Legislative Council was unable to perform its functions because of meaningless quarrels and filibustering.

All these had much to do with the loopholes of the old electoral system in Hong Kong, which were made use of by some with an anti-government agenda.

With the improvements to Hong Kong's electoral system introduced in March 2021, these loopholes have been closed. The three elections held since then, have all proceeded smoothly and patriots now administer Hong Kong.

In light of the above facts, Monday's statement by the G7 foreign ministers and the remarks by the European Union's foreign policy chief are ridiculous. Despite the fact that both the election committee and the Legislative Council have been expanded to be more widely representative, they claimed that the number of voters eligible to participate in elections had been "dramatically curtailed".

Despite bus drivers, electrical engineers and subway drivers competing for a LegCo seat, which never happened before, they claimed that the ability of the Hong Kong people to be legitimately represented has been "further eroded".

The G7 foreign ministers and the EU high representative called on the in-coming chief executive to respect the Basic Law, but it is the home-haters in Hong Kong, who they are voicing their support for, that have trampled on the Basic Law.

The G7 and EU politicians are simply squeezing sour grapes, because under the new electoral system that ensures that only "patriots administer Hong Kong", they can no longer find any agents to hurt Hong Kong's interests from within.

As the Central Government Liaison Office in Beijing said in a statement on Tuesday, their statement was "full of arrogance and bias".

Despite the claims of Western politicians, the changes to Hong Kong's electoral system better respect the protected rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, as provided for in the Basic Law, and strengthen the right of all Hong Kong people to be legitimately represented.