China calls UK reports on Hong Kong ‘ridiculous,’ autonomy guidelines working

China said on Friday that it’s “ridiculous” for the UK, which regards itself as a supervisor, to make critical remarks on Hong Kong affairs after it released a report on Hong Kong on Thursday.

Hua Chunying, spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry, told the Global Times at a regular press conference on Friday that since the return of Hong Kong to the motherland, the guidelines of “one country, two systems” and “Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong” with a high degree of autonomy have been fully implemented.

In the Six-Monthly Report on Hong Kong released by the British government, it said the “one country, two systems” continues to function well. But it also expressed growing concerns over rights and freedom of speech in Hong Kong, particularly in the context of “discussions on independence.”

Hua said there is no denying the fact that the basic rights and freedoms of Hong Kong citizens are fully protected by China’s Constitution, the Basic Law of Hong Kong and local laws.

Hua expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the British government, which regularly publishes Hong Kong reports and makes improper comments on Hong Kong affairs, and called upon it to stop publishing such reports.

Hua stressed that Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs and any other country has no right to interfere. The “responsibility” that the UK thinks it has on Hong Kong is non-existent.

The spokesperson of the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, also responded to the report, saying that “Hong Kong continues to maintain its prosperity and stability, and its residents enjoy more extensive democratic rights and freedoms than at any other time in history. These achievements are there for all to see.”