Former district councilors of Hong Kong condemned some Western countries' biased comments on the city's National Security Law and criticized them for politicizing global anti-pandemic work at a United Nations meeting on Thursday.
The remarks were made via video speech at the regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The meeting was held in Geneva, Switzerland.
During the session, several Western countries criticized China on the issues related to the Hong Kong Special Administration Region.
Joephy Chan Wing-yan, a former district councilor and an internet celebrity from Hong Kong, in her two-minute speech, said that the "unsubstantiated" accusations are just a kind of "same, old political rhetoric".
Chan cited an example of a joint statement issued by the G7 Foreign Ministers last year. The statement alleged that the enactment of the National Security Law in Hong Kong would undermine rights and freedom.
"But the fact is, people in Hong Kong welcome the forthcoming first anniversary of the National Security Law, as it protects our rights to live normal lives free from black-clad violence," Chan said.
It also shows that they are applying double standards as China isn't allowed to safeguard its own national security on its own sovereign territory, while all G7 countries have their own national security laws, she added.
Chan said the recent G7 summit held in Cornwall, the United Kingdom, "is now likely to be remembered as a political theater for a small clique".
She pointed out that "with the G7 members making a range of unsubstantiated accusations against China, China was not given the commensurate opportunity to put the records straight."
Chan said this kind of "outdated, exclusive clubs" is detrimental to international solidarity.
On the same meeting, Judy Chan Ka-pui, also a former district councilor of Hong Kong, in her online speech, urged the United Sates not to see China as a strategic competitor in the face of the global pandemic.
Chan said the contribution of China to the international community during the pandemic should not be disregarded and distorted.
She said that China has provided more than 350 million doses of vaccines to over 80 countries up to early June, mostly to developing countries.
"Besides going through bilateral channels, China always seeks multilateral cooperation in fighting the pandemic and is committed to donating vaccines to the UN Peacekeepers and the International Olympic Committee," she said.
"Instead of making everything political, it is time for leaders in the West to step up and join the leader in the East" to fight the common enemy – COVID-19, Chan added.
