Liaison office of central gov't condemns external forces for meddling in Hong Kong affairs

HONG KONG, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Thursday strongly condemned external forces' gross meddling in Hong Kong affairs and firmly supported the Hong Kong Police Force's law enforcement activities.

The National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force on Wednesday morning arrested six current or former senior staff members of Stand News, a Hong Kong online news platform, for conspiracy to distribute seditious publications, while the Security Bureau of the HKSAR government froze 61 million Hong Kong dollars (7.82 million U.S. dollars) of its assets.

A spokesperson of the liaison office said the arrest of Stand News staff members and the freezing of its assets are acts of justice to safeguard national security as well as Hong Kong's prosperity and stability.

"Bringing the people involved in the case to justice has nothing to do with press freedom," the spokesperson said, noting that Stand News is a political organization under the cloak of a news organization, which supported violence during the social unrest in 2019 and continued to publish seditious articles after the enactment of the national security law in Hong Hong.

The spokesperson urged anti-China disruptors and external forces, who have been undermining national security and Hong Kong's stability while trying to contain China's development under guises, to immediately stop sabotaging Hong Kong's rule of law and development, and cease interfering in China's internal affairs including Hong Kong affairs.

"Freedom is not bottomless and those who violate the law will be punished," the spokesperson said, adding that it is a historical trend that Hong Kong is returning to stability and the "one country, two systems" principle is back on the right track.