Hong Kong authorities on Friday (May 26) condemned a British government call for the removal of a China-imposed national security law that Britain said had been used to persecute, “silence and discredit” pro-democracy opposition figures.
Hong Kong authorities said in a statement that they “vehemently refuted, strongly disapproved and firmly rejected the slandering remarks and ill-intentioned political attacks”.
A Hong Kong government spokesman said Britain should “stop interfering in Hong Kong matters, which are purely China’s internal affairs”.
The spokesman said Hong Kong’s security law had brought stability after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, and that while Hong Kong laws guaranteed certain individual rights, “such rights and freedoms are not absolute” when it comes to safeguarding national security.