US senator's remarks on HK 'sternly denounced'

The central government's foreign affairs office in Hong Kong "sternly denounced" on Thursday the remarks of a United States senator for his "double standards" in justifying violence in Hong Kong.

The Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region responded after Senator Marco Rubio, on his Twitter account on Tuesday, accused China of violating its promises on Hong Kong affairs amid the city's recent protests against the now-suspended extradition bill.

Rubio has applied double standards on violence and freedoms, the spokesman said.