Hong Kong, Beijing slam UK report’s ‘smears’ over national security law

Hong Kong and mainland Chinese authorities have condemned a UK report that said the city’s national security law had further eroded the openness underpinning its success as a financial hub.

In a statement issued early on Friday, the Hong Kong government said it had to “refute the untruthful remarks, slanders and smears” about the city in London’s report and reject what it described as an attempt to interfere in its governance through “despicable political manoeuvres”.

“The UK government smeared the Hong Kong national security law, which targets only a very small number of criminals endangering national security … and continued to unscrupulously distort the facts to criticise,” a spokesman said.

“This clearly exposes its hypocritical double standards, which are utterly ugly and despicable.”