The US Senate disregarded China’s repeated solemn representations and strong opposition and passed the so-called “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019” Tuesday, blatantly supporting rioters in Hong Kong. It’s a serious provocation against the entire Chinese population, including Hong Kong people, and interferes in China’s internal affairs by using US domestic law to arbitrarily trample on the basic norms of international law and international relations, which once again exposes its hegemony mentality. China stringently encouraged the US to back off Hong Kong issues because any act that interferes in China’s internal affairs and violates basic norms of international law and international relations isn’t worth the paper it is written on.
Radical violent crimes have escalated since Hong Kong's ordinance amendment issue, laws have been broken, morality and humanity disregarded. Rioters have destroyed things, set fires, paralyzed traffic, violently assaulted police, harmed the innocent and so on. Their behavior seriously infringes basic human rights such as personal safety and freedom of speech, seriously harms the rule of law and social order, seriously undermines Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability and seriously challenges the “one country, two systems” bottom line, which puts Hong Kong in an extremely dangerous predicament.
However, US lawmakers have ignored the facts, confused right from wrong and excused the crimes committed by the rioters as “human rights and freedom.” The act violently interferes in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs, maliciously slanders the central government and HKSAR and blatantly supports the rioters’ anti-China activities to disrupt Hong Kong.
Sovereign equality and non-interference in internal affairs are the fundamental principles of international law. Many developing countries, including China, have been deeply victimized by foreign powers in the past and still today, and this kind of gross interference is mostly under the guise of "human rights and freedom." Since Hong Kong's ordinance amendment issue, the fact that the US has carried out a series of political manipulations on Hong Kong is like a mirror, fully reflecting its evil purpose of interfering in other countries’ internal affairs and its obvious “double standards.”
The US side never criticized Hong Kong over its lack of human rights and freedoms during its colonial period under British rule but now is willing to make irresponsible remarks and slander Hong Kong, which enjoys unprecedented rights and freedoms. It’s unreasonable that the US openly criticizes other regions with far better records on human rights and rule of law than its own. The United States has never relented in handling its own domestic demonstrations, but it has accused Hong Kong police of using extreme restraint in law enforcement, while turning a deaf ear to mainstream public opinion and strong calls by the Hong Kong community for an end to violence, disorder and the restoration of order.
The Act passed by the US Senate provides shelter for rioters and circumvents Hong Kong government efforts to stop violence. It also sends an intimidating message for people supporting the rule of law. The absurd and hypocritical double standards of US lawmakers is contrary to the basic principles of international law and international relations. They are reinforcing US hegemony by interfering in China's internal affairs in the name of democracy and freedom.
It has been proven time and again that US politicians don’t care about the interests of Hong Kong people. They have destabilized Hong Kong's status as a center of international finance, trade and shipping; they intimidate those trying to stop the violence, and blatantly clear the way for mobs. They take advantage of Hong Kong’s turmoil for their own political gains and to contain China's development. Their evil intentions are as clear as day.
The most pressing task for Hong Kong at present is to bring the violence and chaos to an end and restore order. The majority of Hong Kong residents want a return to peace in the city. Therefore, ending the chaos will be the biggest achievement in human rights for Hong Kong. No matter what the US says or does, its attempt to mess up Hong Kong and hinder China’s development is doomed to fail. The affairs of Hong Kong are China's internal affairs and must be handled within the framework of the constitution of the People's Republic of China and the basic law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The Chinese government will not allow any external forces to interfere in Hong Kong's affairs. The Chinese government's determination to comprehensively and accurately implement the 'one country, two systems' policy is unshakable as is its determination to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests. China’s government always remains determined to oppose any external forces' interference in Hong Kong affairs.
Playing the "Hong Kong Card" is doomed to fail. The Act is destined to be a worthless piece of paper as it violates international laws and the basic norms governing international relations and interferes in China's internal affairs. We advise the US to recognize the situation and immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs, lest they hurt themselves. If the US keeps going down this path, China must take strong counter measures and the US must take responsibility for the consequences.