Irrational to call US unfriendly country, Hong Kong justice minister Paul Lam says

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam points to need to show ‘confidence and ability’ in maintaining ties with the rest of the world

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The US has been a frequent target of the Hong Kong government’s rebuttal statements. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 8:46pm, 8 Jun 2024Updated: 8:57pm, 8 Jun 2024

Framing the US as an unfriendly country is an irrational approach for Hong Kong, the city’s justice minister has said, pointing to the need to show “confidence and ability” in maintaining ties with the rest of the world.

Washington has been a frequent target of the Hong Kong government’s rebuttal statements, including one issued last Friday to condemn “unfounded smears” made by the United States and some other Western countries over a court ruling in a landmark national security trial.

But Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok, in a discussion over the new offence of foreign interference at a forum on Saturday, said he did not agree with the idea that the US was unfriendly.

“Many individuals in the United States might have some unfriendly words and deeds towards us, saying things that we feel are very inappropriate, but should this be a reason for us to call the United States an unfriendly country? I think it would be an irrational thing to say,” he said.

“Hong Kong is a very international city and we deal with all sides.”

He said the city needed to “show that we have the confidence and ability to stay in touch with the outside world, which we are all welcome to do”.

“This is the characteristic of Hong Kong and what we are good at,” he said.