HK 'defenceless', China US Envoy Warns

China's top envoy in the United States, Cui Tiankai, said on Sunday that Hong Kong has long been in a defenceless status from the point of national security.

In a signed article published in US newspapers, the Chinese Ambassador to the United States said the SAR had been used to promote independence, incite violence and had on several occasions crossed the line.

He said foreign forces had increasingly been meddling in Hong Kong affairs, pushing it into chaos and endangering national security.

The article also said a national legislation to plug the loophole could not be delayed, because safeguarding national security was the bedrock of the One Country Two Systems principle.

If the nation's security is under threat, there's no room for talks about Hong Kong's long term stability and prosperity, he said.

The top diplomat also said that the upcoming security law would make Americans who live and work in Hong Kong feel safe.

He added that anyone - as long as they didn't have anything to do with secession, sedition and terrorist activity and foreign forces putting national security at risk - can put their mind at ease about settling and investing in the SAR.

State media also lashed out at US threats of sanctions on Sunday.

The China Daily said President Trump's latest move would hurt the United States, and would bring Hong Kong closer to the mainland.

The Global Times said China has already prepared for the worst, and that the extreme tactics of a superpower like the US are nothing less than "chronic suicide".

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