The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on Wednesday strongly disapproved of the groundless attacks, slanders and smears contained in the so-called “report” issued by the United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

The government said in a statement that it firmly rejected the commission’s wanton political manoeuver and interference in HKSAR affairs in the so-called report, which claimed that the territory’s autonomy had been eroded.   

“The HKSAR government strongly urges again individual United States politicians to discern facts from fallacies, respect the international law and basic norms governing international relations, and immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong matters, which are purely China's internal affairs," an HKSAR government spokesman said.

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The spokesman said the HKSAR will continue to prevent and punish activities that endangering national security while safeguarding the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents.  

"All countries in the world are duty bound to safeguard their national security, and the HKSAR, as an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China, is no exception,” he said.  

 “Hong Kong's rise in world competitiveness rankings to be among the world's top economies is the best testament to the fact that high-level security protection would underpin high-quality development,” he added.

The spokesman said that the “external interference” offense under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance does not prohibit establishing business relationships with foreign governments.

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“The offense is specifically defined to prohibit the use of improper means to do an act with intent to bring about certain interference effects when collaborating with an external force,” the spokesman said.

“It is not possible for anyone to unwittingly violate the law because of normal business operations and external exchanges," he added.

The HKSAR government also strongly refuted the fallacious descriptions about the reform of the city's District Councils in the so-called report.

“The chaos of the earlier term DCs is well known to everyone in Hong Kong and abhorred. Putting DCs back to the right track and reforming them is therefore necessary and imperative. Reforming DCs is an important part of improving district governance,” the spokesman said.  

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He said the district council election on Dec 10, 2023 was conducted in a fair, just, clean, safe and orderly manner, demonstrating fully “an election culture of excellence and the superiority of the reformed DCs”.

The spokesman also said that threatening to include HKSAR government officials, judges and prosecutors who dutifully discharge their duties in a so-called list of "sanctions" is a reprehensible act that undermines the rule of law in the city.

“The HKSAR government strongly condemns this. The purpose of these acts is obviously to intimidate the HKSAR government officials, judges and prosecutors, especially judges, in an attempt to influence their fair and just hearings and verdicts and obstruct the course of justice,” he said.

They will not be intimidated and will continue to resolutely discharge the responsibility of safeguarding national security, he added.

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The spokesman also said that academic freedom is an important social value treasured in Hong Kong and is the cornerstone of its higher education sector.

“Since the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, academics or post-secondary education institutions in Hong Kong continue to conduct normal exchange activities between their foreign or external counterparts,” he said.

These institutions enjoy autonomy on curriculum design, and the HKSAR government encourages them to provide students with diversified learning opportunities on national security education, he added.

The spokesman noted that under the “one country, two systems” principle, Hong Kong has the distinctive advantage of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world. The city last month regained the top position of being the freest economy in the world in a study of the Fraser Institute.  

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“The US enjoys significant economic benefits in Hong Kong and has realized a trade surplus of some $270 billion with Hong Kong over the past 10 years, the largest among US global trading partners,” the spokesman said, adding that there are more than 1,200 US companies with business interests in Hong Kong.

“All these demonstrate the close and long-standing economic ties between Hong Kong and the US, as well as the vast business interests of the US in Hong Kong," he said.