Authorities in mainland China and Hong Kong spread false claims last year that the city's pro-democracy protesters were terrorists, the United States has said in its annual report on terrorism around the world.



In the China and Hong Kong section of the Country Reports on Terrorism 2019, the U.S. State Department said "no terrorist incidents were reported in Hong Kong in 2019" while noting that "counterterrorism remained an operational priority for the Hong Kong Police Force."



It added: "In 2019, authorities in Hong Kong falsely characterized the acts of pro-democracy and human rights protesters as terrorism. The [People’s Republic of China’s] spokesman in Hong Kong also falsely described the actions of protesters as showing 'signs of terrorism'."



The department’s observations could be related to comments from the mainland's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office under the State Council, made two months into Hong Kong’s city-wide protests last year, which mentioned for the first time that the protest movement showed "signs of terrorism."



At the time, office spokesperson Yang Guang told a Beijing press briefing on August 12: “In recent days, Hong Kong’s radical protesters have repeatedly attacked police with highly dangerous tools, which constitute serious violent crimes and have started to show signs of terrorism.

“This type of violent criminal activity must be resolutely combated according to the law, with no hesitation or mercy."



Recently, Hong Kong's top security officials had also raised the possibility of charging violent protesters under terrorism laws after repeatedly warning the public of the emergence of "local terrorism," pointing to the occasional discoveries of explosives and firearms across the city since the protests began in June last year.



Activist Sunny Cheung, who had been lobbying the U.S. and its allies to exert pressure on China to stop its encroachment on Hong Kong's freedom, said the report showed that some means of protest in Hong Kong, though violent, should not be classified as acts of terrorism under prevailing international standards.



Beijing had been trying hard to smear the Hong Kong protests by spreading disinformation that the movement had spun out of control and that the city was under the threat of terrorist attacks, Cheung said.



He believed the authorities had been laying the groundwork for using terrorism laws to subject protesters to more severe sentences and achieve a deterrent effect.



Cheung said the U.S. report could help Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement counter Beijing's one-sided narrative in its international lobbying efforts.

-----------------------------
Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app
To know more: https://bit.ly/2yMMfQE

Apple Daily mobile app latest version DOWNLOAD NOW