US 'outrage' at HKSAR police actions slammed

Government and prominent figures in Hong Kong society on Sunday hit back at the US State Department's claim to be "outraged at the arbitrary arrest" made by the Hong Kong Police on Thursday, Oct 1, noting the claim is groundless and shows the US' true colors in attacking a rising world power.

The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region strongly opposed the US State Department's claim on Sunday, saying it "confuses right with wrong" and is a smear campaign against Hong Kong Police's law enforcement.

The spokesperson urged the US administration to immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong's affairs in the name of human rights and rule of law, saying that the goal of the US administration is to shield radical activists who caused chaos in the city, and damage the "one country, two systems" principle.

A HKSAR government spokesman said that it was regrettable that senior US officials continued to adopt "double standards" in expressing utterly irresponsible remarks on law enforcement in the SAR.

"No one can break the law without facing consequences," the government spokesman said, adding that the arrests were lawful and necessary to maintain law and order in society and protect the life and property of Hong Kong residents.

Hong Kong police arrested at least 86 people who were involved in unauthorised assemblies or committing other offenses, including possessing offensive weapons and forged identity cards, on National Day.

Grenville Cross, former director of public prosecutions, said the US government's anger toward Hong Kong's law enforcement is totally groundless.

Cross said those arrested on Thursday are accused of various criminal offenses, including disorderly conduct, participating in an unauthorised assembly, possession of offensive weapons, possession of fake identity cards, and driving a vehicle without a license. "These are all well-established offenses in Hong Kong's law, and have nothing to do with Beijing or anybody else," he said.

On Wednesday, the US administration rolled out a proposal that would consider refugee-status requests of Hong Kong violent protesters. Cross slammed the move as "hypocrisy writ large" and "pure mischief making".

Cross said these measures and ill-founded allegations against Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland are all part of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's ongoing political campaign to smear China and urged every Hong Kong resident to stand firm against his intimidation and malevolence.

Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, agrees. Lau said the real reason for the US administration to put forth a false narrative about Hong Kong's robust "one country, two systems" principle is a way to vent its "political frustration" against China.

Lau said it is highly possible that the Trump administration has realized that its sanctions against the Chinese mainland and HKSAR have only had a limited impact. "So now, they can only rely on unsupported verbal attacks to try to tarnish our reputation, but it is to no avail," Lau said. "Our central government is still determined to implement the National Security Law for Hong Kong and restore our law and order."

Chandran Nair, founder of an independent think tank the Global Institute for Tomorrow, said it is not a new tactic for the US government to smear the rise of a non-Western power.

Nair said the US launches these political campaigns trying to "embarrass" China because they find the rise of China so difficult to accept, adding that these strategies may not be effective anymore. "As long as we show the world that the rule of law is still safeguarded in Hong Kong, residents' freedom is still upheld, no one is going to believe in US' distorted rhetoric," he said.