The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Monday firmly opposed a joint statement by foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Britain and the United States for blatantly interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs.
The statement misrepresented and told falsehoods of the postponement of the Legislative Council (LegCo) election, the disqualification of some nominations for the election, and the national security law in Hong Kong, a spokesman for the HKSAR government said.
The health and well-being of the people is the overriding concern of any responsible government, the spokesman said.
As there has been an alarming surge in confirmed cases and deaths amid a new wave of COVID-19 outbreak, the decision to postpone the LegCo election is to protect public health and the voting rights of all registered voters, he said.
As the current wave of outbreak would likely last for at least several weeks or longer and there may also be a winter surge later in the year, postponing the election for a year is not "disproportionate" as claimed by the five foreign ministers, the spokesman said.
In fact, many countries also postponed their elections due to the severe pandemic, the spokesman said, citing Britain, Australia, Canada and the United States.
This is another case of these governments adopting double standards and displaying hypocrisy, he pointed out.
The spokesman also said the HKSAR government supports returning officers in exercising their statutory duties in accordance with law when deciding the validity of the nominations of candidates for the LegCo election.
The government respects and safeguards the lawful rights of Hong Kong residents, including the right to vote and the right to stand for elections, and also has a duty to implement and uphold the Basic Law and ensure that all elections be conducted in accordance with the Basic Law and relevant electoral laws, he said.
Safeguarding national security through legislation is in line with international practice and the inappropriate comments by the five foreign ministers on the national security law in Hong Kong smack of political manipulation and double standards, the spokesman said.
Foreign governments should stop their scaremongering and interfering in any form in the internal affairs of the HKSAR, he said.
