Judiciary of HKSAR brooks no external interference: Commissioner's office of Chinese Foreign Ministry in HKSAR

HONG KONG -- The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Saturday strongly disapproved of and firmly rejected the irresponsible comments of a few Western politicians on a case-handling by HKSAR courts.

The politicians, including a minister of state in Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, discredited the human rights situation in Hong Kong, attempted to interfere with the judiciary of the HKSAR and grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, said a spokesperson for the office.

The spokesperson said that it is a core legal principle that laws must be enforced and lawbreakers held accountable.

The Basic Law of the HKSAR fully protects Hong Kong residents' freedom of speech, of the press and of publication, but all rights and freedoms have limits, and no one can be above the law in any name, the spokesperson said.

The judiciary of the HKSAR handles cases impartially and in accordance with the law, which is beyond reproach, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson stressed that since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the cause of "one country, two systems" has been running along the track of the rule of law.

Under the national security law in the HKSAR and the new electoral system, Hong Kong society has restored stability, its legal justice is upheld, and the lawful rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents are better protected, the spokesperson said.

However, a few politicians are preoccupied with ideological prejudices, use democracy and human rights as a panacea to interfere in others' internal affairs, and try to sugarcoat the criminals, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson pointed out that Hong Kong is part of China, not a political stage for external intervention.

"We urge the relevant politicians to set aside double standards, immediately stop the smearing campaign, withdraw the 'black hand' that interferes in China's internal affairs including Hong Kong affairs, and not to stand in opposition to justice and the rule of law and to the 1.4 billion Chinese people," the spokesperson said.