China on Tuesday slammed US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over what Beijing termed as “political lies”.
“THOSE POLITICAL LIES HAVE NO BASIS”
Addressing a news conference in Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lijian Zhao said: “Secretary Pompeo has repeatedly made incorrect remarks on Hong Kong-related issues, and falsely accused China’s legitimate efforts to safeguard national security,” daily Global Times reported.
“Pompeo’s political lies have no basis in fact,” he added.
Zhao was responding to comments by Pompeo about the arrest of Hong Kong’s media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying by police on Monday morning and subsequent raid on his newspaper – Apple Daily – office.
“Lai was nothing more than a patriot who wanted good things for the people of Hong Kong,” Pompeo told the Conservative Political Action Conference soon after the news of the arrest was made public on Monday. “I’m not optimistic given what we saw this morning … that they’re [Chinese government] going to change what they’re doing.”
Ever since China passed a controversial national security law for Hong Kong, the police have made many arrests, accusing people of compromising national security. The law has drawn severe criticism from the West, especially the US.