The government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) reiterated on Wednesday that "foreign governments should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs of the HKSAR" in response to a recent report by the British government.

Since Hong Kong's return to the motherland, the HKSAR has been exercising "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" and a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law, and the "one country, two systems" principle has been fully and successfully implemented, a spokesman for the HKSAR government said while responding to the Six-monthly Report on Hong Kong (July to December 2018) issued by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Human rights and freedom in Hong Kong, including freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, the right to vote and the right to stand for election, etc. are fully protected by the Basic Law, the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance and other legislation, said the spokesman, adding "The HKSAR government attaches great importance to them and is determined to safeguard them."

The HKSAR government has a duty to implement and uphold the Basic Law and to ensure that all elections will be conducted in accordance with the Basic Law and relevant electoral laws, the spokesman said.

The Basic Law clearly stipulates that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China. Any suggestion for "Hong Kong's independence" is a blatant violation of the Basic Law and a direct affront to the national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of China, the spokesman said.

"Hong Kong's independence" runs counter to the successful implementation of "one country, two systems" and undermines the HKSAR's constitutional and legal foundations as enshrined in the Basic Law. Relevant international human rights convention and court cases have clearly pointed out that freedom of speech is not absolute, said the spokesman.

For other issues mentioned in the report, including the prohibition of the operation of the Hong Kong National Party, a visa application case and the co-location arrangement at the West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, the HKSAR government emphasized that it has all along been handling Hong Kong affairs strictly in accordance with the "one country, two systems" principle, the Basic Law and the laws of Hong Kong.

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