The government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Sunday strongly deplored and opposed the statement made by the U.S. Department of State on Oct. 3 (local time) regarding the arrests made by the Hong Kong Police on Oct. 1.
A spokesman for the HKSAR government said that it was much regretted that senior U.S. officials continued to adopt "double standards" in expressing utterly irresponsible remarks on law enforcement actions in the HKSAR.
The HKSAR government solemnly reminded the U.S. government that the HKSAR is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China (PRC), a local administrative region which enjoys a high degree of autonomy and comes directly under the Central People's Government. Hong Kong affairs are internal matters of the PRC. Foreign governments should stop scaremongering and interfering in any form in Hong Kong's affairs.
The spokesman said that the arrests were absolutely lawful and necessary to maintain law and order in society and protect the life and property of Hong Kong residents. As a law enforcement agency, the police will take action when they come across any unlawful acts in strict accordance with the laws in force. The police have always handled and will continue to handle all cases in a fair, just and impartial manner in accordance with the law.
The spokesman said that according to the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the freedoms of procession and assembly were not absolute, and might be subject to restrictions as prescribed by law in the interests of public order, public safety and the interests of others, etc.
According to the Police Force Ordinance, the police have the duty to take lawful measures for apprehending all persons whom it is lawful to apprehend and for whose apprehension sufficient grounds exist, the spokesman added.
Since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the central government has unswervingly implemented the policy of "one country, two systems" to effectively maintain Hong Kong's prosperity and stability. Hong Kong is consistently high on global rankings for the rule of law, the spokesman said.
The spokesman also reiterated the firm commitment of the HKSAR government to the implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle in accordance with the HKSAR Basic Law.
