The British and US governments should not meddle in Hong Kong affairs, Stephen Lam, secretary for constitutional affairs, said Thursday.  

He urged them to respect the right that the central authorities and Hong Kong have in matters of political system development.

The remark was in response to US and British reactions on the interpretation of the Basic Law annexes by the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC).

Late on Wednesday, Bill Rammell, Britain's foreign and commonwealth office minister, commented on the interpretation: "This appears to us to erode the high degree of autonomy which is guaranteed under the terms of the Joint Declaration that underpins Hong Kong's stability and prosperity."

Lam elaborated that, while he understood why foreign governments and foreign investors were "keenly interested" in the issues, "we need to be left on our own" to resolve them within our community.

Previously, He Yafei, director of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry in Beijing, called on Washington to refrain from intervening in Hong Kong affairs.

A US State Department official had expressed his country's support for electoral reform and universal suffrage in Hong Kong.

NPCSC Deputy Secretary-General Qiao Xiaoyang, who is visiting the special administrative region to explain the interpretation and tap public opinion, emphasized that the NPC would not make any promises not to interpret the Basic Law again.

A high degree of autonomy does not mean total autonomy, he said Thursday. "We will not make this promise because it is a power vested in the NPC by the Basic Law."

(China Daily April 9, 2004)