China on Friday opposed a European Parliament resolution on Hong Kong, which had denounced the closure of the city's pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, highlighting the rapid deterioration of press freedom in Hong Kong.
"Under the national security law in the HKSAR, Hong Kong society has returned to stability, the rule of law and justice have been upheld, and the extensive lawful rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents have been better protected in a more stable and secure environment," the Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said in a statement.
The spokesperson also accused European Parliament of "distorted facts with ulterior motives."
This comes after European Parliament on Thursday had adopted with a landslide majority urgent resolution denouncing the closure of Apple Daily, and the rapid deterioration of press freedom in Hong Kong.
The European Parliament also called on the Hong Kong government to immediately and unconditionally release and drop charges against all journalists.
"This European Parliament resolution is an important step in addressing press freedom abuse in Hong Kong, but it is now paramount that all democratic governments and other international organisations join their voices in protest against the repressive campaign led by the Chinese regime," said RSF East Asia bureau head, Cedric Alviani.
In the resolution, the European Parliament expressed its "strongest solidarity with all Hong Kong journalists who, despite the entry of National Security Law into force, have continued to strenuously defend media freedom and independent journalism and to keep reporting about the dramatic evolution of events" and called on the Hong Kong government "to end all legal harassment and all intimidation directed at journalists."
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) commended this "much-needed resolution addressing the escalating crackdown on press freedom in the territory."
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor