Washington's Remarks Utterly Irresponsible: Govt

The SAR government says it “strongly deplores and opposes” a statement by the US State Department, which condemned the Hong Kong police’s arrest of more than 80 people during unauthorised protests on Thursday.

In a statement issued late Saturday, Washington said it was “outraged” by what it called the “arbitrary arrests” made on October 1st.

It also accused the SAR government of repressing peaceful public opinion and using law enforcement for political purposes.

But the Hong Kong government hit back on Sunday, saying the arrests on National Day were “absolutely lawful and necessary to maintain law and order in society and protect the life and property of Hong Kong residents”.

A government spokesman added that it’s “regrettable” that senior US officials have continued to adopt "double standards" in expressing "utterly irresponsible" remarks on Hong Kong’s law enforcement actions.

The spokesperson said foreign governments should stop scaremongering and interfering in Hong Kong's affairs.