London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Agency overseeing Hong Kong lashes out over foreign criticism of mass arrests

Agency overseeing Hong Kong lashes out over foreign criticism of mass arrests

The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office accused the four nations that had condemned the arrests of seeking to foment ‘colour revolution’ to overthrow China’s constitutional order.

The Beijing office overseeing Hong Kong affairs has lashed out at a joint statement by four foreign governments condemning the mass arrest of Hong Kong opposition figures, accusing the countries of seeking to foment a “colour revolution” to overthrow the nation’s constitutional order.

The ministerial-level Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) on Monday also labelled the foreign governments’ comments as “blatant interference” in Hong Kong police’s law enforcement actions and a “grave violation” of the country’s “domestic affairs and judicial sovereignty”.

In a statement, an HKMAO spokesman said Australia, Canada, Britain and the United States – the countries behind the original remarks – had “exposed their evil motive of supporting anti-China elements to make use of elections to endanger our national security”.

“It is to collude with external forces to push for a colour revolution in Hong Kong, and it is also part of the script of overthrowing the country’s constitutional order,” the spokesman said.

The criticisms came a day after Beijing’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong and the city’s government issued separate statements
accusing the four countries of applying double standards.

The countries’ foreign ministers had issued a joint statement over the weekend expressing concern over the mass arrests of opposition politicians and activists on suspicion of subversion under the Beijing-imposed national security law.

The arrests constituted the biggest crackdown yet under the legislation, which came into force at the end of June last year. More than 50 opposition figures were rounded up on Wednesday over their involvement in unofficial primary elections last July to select candidates for Legislative Council elections later that year – polls which have since been postponed.

Among those arrested were Occupy co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting, whom authorities accuse of orchestrating a “35-plus” plan that aimed to win a majority in the 70-seat legislature in order to “paralyse” and “overthrow” the government by blocking bills.

The HKMAO spokesman on Monday stressed that all elections in Hong Kong should be conducted “along the proper tracks” of “one country, two systems” and the city’s Basic Law, its mini-constitution.


Benny Tai arrives at the Ma On Shan Police Station after his arrest on suspicion of subversion last week.


The “one country, two systems” formula guarantees Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy in managing its affairs.

In an interview with the state-run China News Service on Saturday, Hong Kong Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai noted the opposition camp had ignored warnings from the authorities that the primary elections might violate the national security law, and went ahead with it anyway.

In its statement on Sunday, the Hong Kong government also defended the arrests of the activists as being made on the basis of evidence and in accordance with the law.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×