London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Hong Kong leader slams West’s ‘double standards, hypocrisy and lies’

Hong Kong leader slams West’s ‘double standards, hypocrisy and lies’

Chief Executive Carrie Lam also rejects accusations police used excessive force during the 2019 anti-government protests.

Hong Kong’s leader has hit back at what she called unfair accusations by Western powers against the city, summing up foreign critics’ comments as “double standards, hypocrisy and lies”.

In a combative mood, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor also rejected accusations that police used excessive force during the 2019 anti-government protests. She singled out Britain for criticism, saying it was “the greatest lie” to claim China had breached the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, which paved the way for the city’s handover in 1997.

“Having been the chief executive for almost four years, especially in the past two years, I have first-hand experience of how overseas governments and politicians have exploited Hong Kong to achieve their agenda,” she said in an interview with state-run magazine Outlook Weekly.

Lam said she had come to the conclusion the words “double standards, hypocrisy and lies” could be used to describe their actions.

She also defended Beijing’s decision in March to overhaul Hong Kong’s electoral system to ensure only “patriots” governed the city.

The Legislative Council was expected to approve the changes, under which directly elected seats in the legislature will be cut and the Election Committee given new powers to vet and elect Legco candidates, by the end of this month at the earliest.

Beijing and Hong Kong officials insisted the revamp was necessary to avoid a repeat of the 2019 social unrest. But opposition activists and Western politicians said it was aimed at wiping out dissident voices, and amounted to a breach of the joint declaration, under which the central government promised the city a high degree of autonomy.

In the interview, Lam accused the West of lying about the 1984 document.

“The greatest lie is [criticism about the] joint declaration. Every time they accuse us, especially from the UK, they say China has breached the Sino-British Joint Declaration. We ask them which article in the joint declaration? They are then silent. They can’t quote which article,” she said.

“They said they would stand with Hong Kong people. Did they ever ask Hong Kong people what do we want? … For a long period, whenever people spoke their mind or having positions different from the rioters’, they got attacked, they got burned. Did they say anything about these Hong Kong people? No. So, they are very hypocritical.”








Elaborating on why she believed that some foreign governments held double standards, Lam cited criticisms against police’s handling of anti-government protesters as an example.

“[Western governments] always accuse us of police brutality. Where is that police brutality? When policemen were attacked in their countries, what did they say? That is double standards. … There are a lot of examples where they are just displaying double standards in a very blatant way without shame.”

Lam’s interview was part of a package in the latest issue of the Outlook Weekly, which also talked to two of Lam’s predecessors, Tung Chee-hwa and Leung Chun-ying, both of whom are now vice-chairmen of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top advisory body.

Leung urged the government to explain more clearly Hong Kong’s status to foreign countries, to make sure they understood the city was part of China.

“The reason is on our side,” Leung said. “Did Hong Kong leave British rule like what Singapore did? Should Hong Kong be [treated] equally like Singapore or India? No. The crux of the Hong Kong issue is reunification [with China] and not independence.”

Tung, separately, also defended Beijing’s decision to reform the electoral system.

“Different places have different electoral systems, and the electoral systems in the US, Britain, India and Singapore are different. Who can say which system is the best? The final test is whether a system can bring people well-being and happiness,” he said.

He called on young people not to confine themselves to Hong Kong but try to advance their careers in mainland China. Tung also said the government should display determination and innovative thinking to tackle the city’s housing shortage.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×