The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today strongly disapproved of and rejected the recent biased and misleading remarks made by some foreign governments, politicians, officials and the media on the city’s work in safeguarding national security and Lai Chee-ying’s case.
 
It urged that foreign individuals and entities should respect Hong Kong’s judicial system, and should not interfere with trials in Hong Kong.
 
Any attempt to interfere with the city’s judicial proceedings by means of political power, in order to procure a defendant’s evasion of the criminal justice process, is a blatant act undermining the rule of law of Hong Kong, it said in a press statement.
 
It is an international practice to enact legislation to safeguard national security, the Hong Kong SAR Government stressed.
 
It explained that the Hong Kong National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance clearly stipulate that human rights shall be respected and protected in safeguarding national security in the Hong Kong SAR. 

Additionally, the rights and freedoms that Hong Kong residents enjoy under the Basic Law, the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, including freedom of speech and of the press, shall be protected in accordance with the law.
 
Moreover, the Hong Kong SAR Government pointed out that Hong Kong has always welcomed normal business exchanges, economic activities and people-to-people exchanges with different economies.
 
It noted that as one of the most open economies in the world, Hong Kong firmly supports free and open trade, and a multilateral trading system.
 
Hong Kong will continue to exchange views with different governments and organisations under the principles of mutual respect and equality, facilitate co-operation, and promote Hong Kong’s distinctive advantage of enjoying the strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world under “one country, two systems”, the Hong Kong SAR Government added.