Chinese new outlet China Daily accused Joe Biden administration of following the hegemonic behavior of its predecessor on issues related to Hong Kong, having launched at least 13 smear attacks against China on those issues.
In a lengthy article published on Thursday, China Daily listed 11 unprovoked smear attacks carried out by the United States against China on Hong Kong-related issues and explained why US allegations contrasted the truth.
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The outlet pointed to the statements by the US State Department on March 11 and March 17 to discredit China’s decision improving the electoral system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and sanction 14 Chinese officials involved in the decision.
Why the United States itself can amend its own electoral laws any time it deems necessary but go all out to denigrate China’s improvement of such laws for one of its special administrative regions, the article asked.
It also insisted that the US accusation was not consistent with the facts, as the NPC has made decisions on safeguarding national security in Hong Kong and improving the electoral system of Hong Kong respectively to ensured the implementation of the principle of “patriots administering Hong Kong”.
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On March 31, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken certified to US Congress that Hong Kong remains undeserving of “special treatment” by the United States under US law, according to China Daily. On April 1, US Consul General in Hong Kong Hanscom Smith raved that Hong Kong elections would not produce “meaningful democratic results.”
The designing and improvement of the electoral system of the HKSAR is China’s internal affair, the article went on, adding that the amendments enjoy sufficient legal basis and fully embody the spirit of the rule of law in governing the country and Hong Kong by law.
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On April 16, anti-China Hong Kong disruptors, including Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and Martin Lee Chu-ming, were sentenced by a Hong Kong court according to law, the article said.
Later, Blinken tweeted that the sentences “are unacceptable,” and called for the release of those disruptors. He also added the hashtag #StandWithHongKong at the end of his tweet.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also tweeted that she was “saddened and disturbed” by the sentences and smeared the sentences as “another sign of Beijing’s assault on the rule of law.”
Hong Kong is a society under the rule of law. The evidence for the illegal activities of those anti-China Hong Kong disruptors is rock solid, and no external force has the right to butt in, the Chinese outlet stated.
Facts showed, according to China Daily, that such perpetrators as Lai and Lee have colluded with Western anti-China forces for a long time and raised the devil. It was also made public that Lai has built shady connections with the US National Endowment for Democracy, a US government-sponsored entity.
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On May 7, Blinken wrote on Twitter that the country “stands with the people of Hong Kong,” while asking the Hong Kong government to immediately release multiple instigators of riots in the city, including Joshua Wong who was sentenced along with four other instigators to four to 10 months in prison.
The ridiculous demand for the immediate release of the defendants does not respect the rule of law, revealing Washington’s attempt to interfere in China’s internal affairs, the article goes, adding that the facts of the cases are well-founded and that Wong and the others are guilty as charged.
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On May 27, the Legislative Council of the HKSAR voted overwhelmingly to pass the Improving Electoral System (Consolidated Amendments) Bill 2021 and Blinken made rash criticism of the bill the following day, calling for the release of all those charged under the national security law in Hong Kong, and dismissal of charges against them.
Before and after the adoption of the NPC’s decision, the central government collected opinions from people from all walks of life in Hong Kong in various ways, the outlet added.
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On June 3, Blinken issued a statement on the website of US Department of State, claiming that the United States will “stand with the people of China as they demand that their government respect universal human rights,” while during the disturbance in Hong Kong following the proposed ordinance amendments in 2019, anti-China extremist and secessionist groups supported by the United States, trampled on human rights in an attempt to seize the jurisdiction in Hong Kong and subvert the state power.
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In June, Smith said in an interview that the imposition of the national security law in Hong Kong had created an “atmosphere of coercion” that threatens both the city’s freedoms and its standing as an international business hub.
The disturbance in Hong Kong following the proposed ordinance amendments in June 2019 dealt a heavy blow to Hong Kong’s economy and people’s livelihood.
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On June 25, the White House put out on its website a statement regarding the closing down of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily, in which it falsely accused China of suppressing press freedom.
The Apple Daily, under the cloak of a media outlet, had long engaged in illegal acts of harming the country and destabilizing Hong Kong, seriously violating the journalistic ethics and jeopardizing the media environment of Hong Kong.
The newspaper had long been engaged in concocting fake news to mislead the public. During the turbulence over proposed ordinance amendments in Hong Kong in 2019, the newspaper produced a flurry of fake news and peddled wrong values to perplex the public, disseminate “anti-police” and “anti-China” remarks, and instigate “Black Violence.”
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On July 7, the White House announced the extension of the so-called “national emergency with respect to Hong Kong” and of relevant Hong Kong-related sanctions for one year, and continued with the cancellation of preferential treatment for Hong Kong.
The so-called “national emergency with respect to Hong Kong” is a gross interference in China’s internal affairs. The extension of the so-called “national emergency” also marked the first time that Joe Biden, since taking office as US president, continued with Trump’s thinking on Hong Kong.
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On July 10, the U.S. Department of State posted a statement issued by 21 members of the so-called “Media Freedom Coalition” on its website, expressing “strong concerns” about the judicial organs of the HKSAR handling the case of Apple Daily according to law, and falsely claiming that “the use of the National Security Law to suppress journalism is a serious and negative step.”
Freedom is not laissez-faire. Scientific rationality, legal order and international rules are the foundation of freedom. As Montesquieu said in The Spirit of Law, “liberty is the right to do what the law permits.”
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On July 16, as a bid to smear Hong Kong’s business environment, the US government issued a so-called “business advisory” to caution US businesses about “emerging risks” to their operations and activities in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Washington imposed sanctions on seven officials of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR.
The US advisory, which attempts to discredit the national security law in Hong Kong while stating that Hong Kong is still a popular investment and trade location for the United States and that it provides competitive financial, trade and professional services, is self-contradictory and illogical.