28th November 2022 – (London) Five trustees and the fund secretary of the dissolved “612 Humanitarian Relief Fund” in Hong Kong were found guilty last Friday (25th) of a crime involving failure to apply for registration or exemption from registration within the specified time limit. On the same day, British Minister of State for Indo-Pacific Anne-Marie Belinda Trevelyan criticised on Twitter that the continuous harassment of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists and civil society organisations is unacceptable. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in the U.K. said on Sunday (27th) that China firmly opposes British officials pointing fingers at the rule of law in Hong Kong and defaming the human rights situation in Hong Kong.
The embassy spokesperson pointed out that China fully protects Hong Kong residents’ freedom of speech, press, and publication in accordance with the law. At the same time, no one can override the law in the name of freedom, and violations must be investigated. The judiciary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region handles every case in accordance with the law, and any foreign government official has no right to interfere. China urges British officials to respect facts and the rule of law, stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs, and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs.
