Beijing’s foreign ministry arm in Hong Kong slams US ‘political show’ after Washington says it will impose visa curbs on officials

His comments, made on social media platform X, referred to Hong Kong’s biggest and longest-running national security trial, in which fourteen opposition figures on Thursday were found guilty of conspiring to subvert state power while two were acquitted over an election plot to paralyse the city government.

The 16 were from a group of 47 politicians and activists prosecuted under the national security law in 2021, six months after they held an unofficial “primary” for the approaching Legislative Council election.

British foreign secretary David Cameron, commenting on the verdict on his X account on Friday, also said “this is the opposite of one country, two systems”, referring to the governing principles underpinned by Hong Kong’s Basic Law mini-constitution.

The Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong hit back around 11pm, saying the “political show is in vain and the spirit of the rule of law shall not be violated”.

“They attacked ‘one country, two systems’, smeared Hong Kong’s national security law, slandered the human rights and freedom situation in Hong Kong, interfered with the judiciary in the SAR, and even threatened to impose new sanctions,” the office said.

It condemned the “baseless accusations” against the verdicts in the national security trial, maintaining that the High Court had handled the case impartially and without interference.

The office urged US and British politicians to abide by the principles of international law and the basic norms governing international relations, earnestly respect the spirit of the rule of law, and immediately stop political manipulation and interference in Hong Kong affairs.

The Hong Kong government weighed in to voice strong disapproval, condemning the move to impose visa restrictions in a statement also issued late at night.

“[The measures] grossly interfere in China’s internal affairs and Hong Kong’s affairs …The Hong Kong SAR despises such threats and will not be intimidated by such despicable behaviour. The HKSAR will resolutely continue to discharge the duty of safeguarding national security,” the statement reads.

The city government said the court judgment clearly set out the reasons for the verdicts and such criminal acts “had nothing to do with the so-called fight for democracy and human rights”.

“The HKSAR government strongly demands the US government to immediately stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and Hong Kong’s affairs, and stop malicious smearing on the verdict of the relevant case,” the statement said.

It was the second “rebuttal” statement issued by the city government defending the subversion verdict in 12 hours, with the first one released on Friday afternoon to reject criticism of the court ruling by foreign governments and NGOs.