Photo: Fan Lingzhi/GT

The US and the UK have faced strong opposition from China after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made rude and wrong remarks on China over Hong Kong affairs hours before a jubilant and cheerful 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland. 

"They are not qualified to comment on a prosperous, stable and united Hong Kong," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a press briefing on Friday. He said the US and UK often talk about "democracy and human rights," but turn a blind eye to their own serious problems and misdeeds.

Any attempt to smear the successful practice of "one country, two systems" is futile, any interference in China's internal affairs will never succeed, and no external force can stand in the way of Hong Kong's progress toward prosperity and stability, Zhao stressed. 

In a statement released on the eve of the anniversary, Blinken criticized Beijing for undermining "democratic participation, fundamental freedoms, and an independent media" in Hong Kong, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

In a video clip posted on Friday,  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused China of "failing to comply with its commitment" 25 years ago, as Beijing "threatens both the rights and freedoms" of Hong Kong people and the "continued progress and prosperity of their home."

"We're not giving up on Hong Kong," Johnson said.

In response, Zhao said the UK exposed its dark and outdated colonial mentality and sinister intention to tarnish Hong Kong's image under the banner of human rights. 

Britain should face up to the reality that Hong Kong has been back to the motherland for 25 years, view its development in an objective and fair manner, respect China's sovereignty, and stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs, and stop causing trouble for China-UK relations, Zhao said. "Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong and no outside forces have the right to interfere. The UK has no sovereign, governance or supervision rights over Hong Kong after its return to the motherland." 

Experts from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the Chinese mainland believe the UK and the US are still indulged in colonial mentality and a sense of superiority. And facts show they are still ambitious to draw up the "anti-China front" through Hong Kong affairs, rather than seeing the stability and prosperity of the financial hub under Chinese governance.

The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) ambassador to China, Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, sent a congratulatory message on Friday through a Twitter post: "Celebrating the 25th anniversary of #HongKong's return to her motherland. I wish #HKSAR, the Pearl of the Orient prosperity."

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping on the 25th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to the motherland and the establishment of the HKSAR. The Iranian Embassy in China also sent blessings on its Weibo account, saying that Hong Kong's prosperity and development depends not on the gift or charity of Western countries, but on the hands of the Chinese people themselves.

Chu Kar-kin, a veteran affairs commentator and a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, told the Global Times on Friday that "various tricks from the UK have proved unpopular and useless."

The British should be ashamed of their ancestors' acts as colonists, Chu said, noting that the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the HKSAR should be a cheerful party, any criticism or foreign intervention should be ignored and disregarded.

On Friday, some netizens posted the video footage that records "Iron Lady," then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher stumbling after meeting with much tougher "Steel Factor" Deng Xiaoping in 1982 and commented that "Thatcher at that time realized she had no bargaining chip in negotiations over HK, which leaders of some Western countries don't have yet currently. Arrogance and evil will eventually kneel down to justice."

Despite entering the 21st century, rhetoric from some Western politicians is tinged with a sick sense of superiority and colonization, a Beijing-based international affairs expert told the Global Times on condition of anonymity.  

In a joint statement released by the G7 after its summit, the word "China" appeared 14 times, which was largely critical of China on its internal affairs, including Hong Kong. The expert said the US and its allies are trying to defame China's global image and set up an anti-China united front within its bloc. 

The US and the UK do not really care about people's lives in Hong Kong. Behind the social riots in the past few years were Washington and London fanning the flames, and they are obsessed with creating chaos to make the city more difficult to govern, the expert said. 

If Hong Kong was a financial hub still dominated by the UK and the US, the pair would have definitely tried their best to avoid causing trouble in the city. However, they do not want the Hong Kong SAR, under effective management, to become a bridge linking the Chinese mainland and the world and a resource to fuel China's economy, he said. 

There are US and UK politicians who are constantly smearing Hong Kong to drive some Western enterprises and talent out of the city. But even so, I don't see a massive outflow because it's a commercial rather than a political decision, Lau Siu-kai, the vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, told the Global Times. 

"We have no illusions about changing the deep-seated ideological prejudices of some Western politicians. It's more important to help Hong Kong people not to be disturbed as much as possible by these malicious attacks from Western politicians, whose purpose is to undermine Hong Kong people's confidence in the SAR government, the city and the country," Lau said.