Commissioner’s Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

China's foreign ministry's office in Hong Kong slammed the latest remarks of the US Consul General Gregory May, who criticized judicial cases in the Chinese city and openly supported anti-China and anti-Hong Kong figures including infamous rioter Jimmy Lai. Experts said the responsibility for improving US-China relations, including those with Hong Kong, lies with the US side, which should refrain from meddling in Hong Kong affairs.

A spokesperson for the Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) expressed strong opposition and condemnation toward the remarks made by May, according to a statement published on the website of the office late Thursday night.

Certain anti-China organizations and politicians in the West remain resentful of Hong Kong's shift from chaos to governance and now to prosperity. Under the guise of academic discussions, they actually intervene and discredit Hong Kong's political democracy, judicial fairness, and human rights conditions, which is neither objective nor fair, the spokesperson said.

With Hong Kong entering a new phase of economic revitalization and development, any external interference is destined to fail, the spokesperson noted, advising the US to recognize the reality, position itself appropriately, refrain from stirring trouble, and return to the right path of fostering healthy and stable development of China-US relations through concrete actions.

While China and the US are attempting to stabilize bilateral relations, May said during a webinar hosted by a Washington think tank Center for Strategic & International Studies on Thursday night that the US aims to stabilize relations with China, including those with Hong Kong.

He also suggested that if Hong Kong leaders cease their "expanding crackdown" and return to the provisions and spirit of the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, the US government would respond positively and attempt to improve Hong Kong-US relations, local media outlet Ming Pao reported.

The US official also criticized the Hong Kong government's stated goal of combating "soft resistance," arguing that it is actually using extrajudicial means for "soft suppression," according to the media report.

Based on May's comments, the US is trying to find an "exit strategy" in the face of being unable to change the situation in Hong Kong. However, if the US demands that Hong Kong admit to "mishandling" matters, Hong Kong will naturally refuse since that would be untrue, Lau Siu-kai, a consultant from the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies who is also a senior policy advisor, told the Global Times on Friday.

Lau believed that the responsibility for improving US-China relations, including those with Hong Kong, lies with the US side, which should refrain from meddling in Hong Kong affairs.

Hong Kong residents and tourists visit the Golden Bauhinia Square on March 23, 2024. Photo: VCG

The US official told a webinar that American companies in Hong Kong are still interested in investing there, but some are concerned about potential instability following the implementation of Article 23 of the Basic Law and the legislation on critical infrastructure security expected later this year, according to the local media report.

Businesses worry that some offenses under Article 23 are vaguely defined, leading to uncertainty for businesses and individuals, May noted, emphasizing that American companies expect the Hong Kong government to firmly and clearly reaffirm that the internet will remain free and open, and that Hong Kong will avoid strict information control, preventing foreign companies from having operational difficulties.

National Security together with a safe, fair, proper and harmony use of the internet and electronic media, continuously contributes the prosperity of the city. The internet is never an extraterritorial forum or should be isolated from widespread of violence and illegal propaganda or materials, Chu Kar-kin, a veteran commentator based in the HKSAR and member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, told the Global Times on Friday.

"The HKSAR government has devoting efforts to contribute to the business environment, reputation and image. May should not defame Hong Kong and never interfere in Hong Kong's internal affairs and judicial system by inserting external pressure based on subjectivity and bias," Chu said.

The fundamental national policies toward Hong Kong outlined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration have been fully implemented in the Basic Law, and the UK has no sovereignty, jurisdiction, or supervisory rights over Hong Kong after its return to the motherland, Willy Fu, a law professor who is also the director of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong & Macao Studies, told the Global Times on Friday.

Over recent years, the UK, the US, and anti-China nations have intervened in Hong Kong's internal affairs in various ways. They mistakenly regard the Joint Declaration as a legal basis for the Basic Law of the HKSAR and demand that China fulfill "obligations" stipulated in the Joint Declaration, Fu said.

"They also use the declaration to criticize China's enactment and implementation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong. These actions entirely confuse the original intent, nature, and status of the Joint Declaration. China's consistent stance is that the UK has no right to use the declaration as an excuse to interfere in Hong Kong after its return," the legal expert said.

Some lawmakers in Hong Kong also voiced strong opposition to the US Consul General's remarks. Lawmaker Nixie Lam Lam said in a statement issued on Friday that some American politicians continue to ignore the deep societal divisions in their own country, suppress dissenting students, and restrict freedom of speech, yet focus on commenting on other nations' internal affairs to divert global attention away from these issues.

"Anti-China rioter Jimmy Lai and other infamous anti-China figures have long played the role of traitorous clowns, deliberately slandering Hong Kong and fabricating false stories to solicit international sympathy with ulterior motives," Lam said, noting that Hong Kong's political democracy has continuously improved, freedoms and human rights are fully protected, economic development is steadily recovering, and society is orderly.

The lawmaker also pointed out that May and the US government have long disparaged Hong Kong affairs, including the National Security Law for Hong Kong and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.

"I believe such remarks show that US criticism of Hong Kong is completely unfounded, ignoring the fact that every country has national security laws," Lam said.

May further claimed that the upcoming Cybersecurity Law would directly impact the free flow of information in Hong Kong, but his comments on a law that hasn't even been enacted are entirely fabricated and alarmist, which indicates that the US' comments about Hong Kong are purely political and are not based on facts, the lawmaker added.