AFP: Hong Kong’s High Court today sentenced 45 people to jail over subversion, which has quickly drawn international condemnation, including from the United States and Australia. What is the Foreign Ministry’s comment on the sentencing as well as the international reaction?
Lin Jian: Hong Kong is a society under the rule of law. To abide by the law and bring lawbreakers to justice is a basic principle. No one should be allowed to use “democracy” as a pretext to engage in unlawful activities and escape justice. Certain Western countries while forgetting the fact that they uphold their own national security through relevant judicial procedures, have made unwarranted criticisms over the fair enforcement of the national security law by Hong Kong’s court. This severely violates and tramples on the spirit of the rule of law. The Central Government firmly supports the Hong Kong SAR in safeguarding national security and punishing all acts that undermine national security in accordance with the law, and firmly opposes the interference of certain Western countries in China’s internal affairs and their attempt to smear and undermine Hong Kong’s rule of law by using relevant case
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