When asked to comment on the bill, which urges the Hong Kong SAR to cancel the legislation, Kong said China firmly opposes the move, for China regards it an intervention in the internal affairs of both China and the Hong Kong SAR of China.

To prohibit criminal acts harming national security and unity through legislation is a common practice in all countries, including the United States, he said.

It is natural that Hong Kong, as a special administrative region of China, enacts laws on its own to safeguard national security in line with the Basic Law, and it is also an inevitable outcome of the implementation the Basic Law, Kong said.

While examining the draft ordinance concerning national security, the Hong Kong SAR Legislative Council has solicited public opinion in an in-depth manner, he said.

The draft ordinance, whose aim is to safeguard national security and unity, upholds the principle of safeguarding Hong Kong residents' rights and freedoms on the basis of the Basic Law and conforms with regulations of applying two international human rights conventions to Hong Kong. The ordinance enjoys universal support from all walks of life in Hong Kong, he said.

The US House of Representatives has no justification for making irresponsible comments about the enactment of Article 23, and it is useless to do that, he said.

China again urges the US side to respect the facts and to refrain from words or deeds which constitute an intervention in China's and Hong Kong's internal affairs and which could harm Sino-US relations and its own image, Kong Quan said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 28, 2003)