Five Eyes Alliance must stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs

The recent election for the seventh-term Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) was exactly a testament to the broad representation, political inclusiveness, balanced participation and fair competition.

The election was of vital importance for developing democracy that suits Hong Kong’s actual conditions, shaping a new and sound paradigm of governance in Hong Kong, and promoting the long-term and stable development of the “one country, two systems” principle.

However, Five Eyes Alliance countries, including the United States and the UK, are unwilling to see Hong Kong implement the new electoral system and embrace stability and prosperity. They deliberately turned a blind eye to the election results which were achieved according to the will of the people in Hong Kong and relevant legal procedures, and blatantly published a so-called “joint statement” to smear the election, saying there was an “erosion of democratic elements.” Such mean and sleazy acts were the gross interference in China’s domestic affairs, and will inevitably come to a dead end like a repeat of the past.

Facts have proved that the election for the seventh-term LegCo was a success. Altogether 153 candidates competed in the election and displayed their patriotism and governance capability. The election was also joined by all walks of life in the HKSAR. More than 1.35 million Hong Kong citizens exercised their democratic rights, expressing their firm support and high recognition for the new electoral system with concrete actions.

90 members of the LegCo with different backgrounds and political views were elected. They will better balance interests among different regions, different functional constituencies and the special administrative region as a whole, and better represent the will of the people.

A Hong Kong citizen told People’s Daily that the election this time was more diversified and representative than ever before, and it totally conformed to the general interests of Hong Kong and was a milestone of Hong Kong’s democratic system.

The Five Eyes Alliance countries, slandering Hong Kong’s electoral system and smearing the LegCo election under the disguise of the so-called “democracy,” revealed their true intention to meddle in Hong Kong’s politics, interfere in China’s domestic affairs, and contain China’s development.

They see those who remain in prison or fugitive for opposing China and attempting to destabilize Hong Kong as “meaningful political opposition.” Their mean practices are exactly what “undermine Hong Kong’s rights, freedoms and high degree of autonomy.”

It’s known by all that Hong Kong had never enjoyed democracy under the 156-year British colonial rule, until the door of democracy was opened when it returned to its motherland. The Five Eyes Alliance countries should open their eyes widely to see the fact they are never “grade-A students” of democracy, or qualified to lecture other countries about democracy.

The election for the seventh-term LegCo fully indicated that the aspiration of the Hong Kong people for social stability and their firm determination to oppose anti-China and destabilizing forces are unchallengeable, and the democratic development of Hong Kong is unstoppable under the “once country, two systems” principle.

Hong Kong must be governed by those who love China, and anti-China disrupters must be knocked out. That’s what guarantees a brighter future of the special administrative region, and a common aspiration of the Hong Kong society.

The annoying noises made by the Five Eyes alliances are only a piece of evidence of external forces meddling in Hong Kong affairs, and reveal that the anti-China disrupters are indeed the chief culprit that undermines Hong Kong’s progress of democracy.

Hong Kong is part of China, and its affairs are purely China's internal affairs. Whether Hong Kong’s democratic system is good shall be judged by the Chinese people, including Hong Kong compatriots. The Chinese government will continue to implement the principle of One Country, Two Systems fully and faithfully, and it will support Hong Kong in developing a democratic system that conforms to the region’s constitutional status and actual conditions.

Hong Kong will embrace a wider road to democracy and brighter prospects of democratic development as the principle of "patriots governing Hong Kong" becoming more and more consolidated. We sternly warn the Five Eyes Alliance that any plot to interfere in China’s domestic affairs and disrupt Hong Kong in the name of “democracy” is doomed to fail, and it should better stop such mean practices as soon as possible.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)