This Nov 17, 2016 photo shows the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Central, Hong Kong. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)
The Commissioner’s Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong on Thursday firmly rejected a move by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) and a few Western anti-China politicians to slander police actions toward certain members of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) and to interfere with the rule of law in the SAR.
All journalists in Hong Kong must strictly abide by the laws of the special administrative region, and no one should engage in activities that damage Hong Kong’s stability under the name of journalism, a spokesperson for the office said in a statement.
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There is no absolute press freedom anywhere in the world that could be above law, and the identity of a journalist doesn’t mean they have amnesty or enjoy immunity for whatever they do.
Spokesperson, Commissioner’s Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in HKSAR
The spokesperson pointed out that both the Basic Law and the National Security Law for the HKSAR stipulate that lawful rights and freedoms of the city’s residents are protected, including freedom of speech and the press.
“However, there is no absolute press freedom anywhere in the world that could be above law, and the identity of a journalist doesn’t mean they have amnesty or enjoy immunity for whatever they do,” the statement reads.
Pointing out that Hong Kong is a society governed by rule of law, the spokesperson said the FCC and some Western politicians ignored the facts and took every opportunity to attack the SAR government and supported anti-China forces in Hong Kong, “which fully exposed their intention of meddling with the rule of law in the SAR and disrupting Hong Kong in the name of press freedom”.
“Their tricks will bite the dust.”
Stressing that Hong Kong is in a new stage of moving from chaos to stability and then to greater prosperity, the spokesperson said no external forces could stop the sustained implementation of “one country, two systems”.
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“We urge the FCC and certain Western politicians to recognize the fact, put themselves in the right position, respect the rule of law in the SAR, cease and desist from interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs for any reason, and stop going further down the wrong path,” the statement reads.