China slams Western countries lecturing on Hong Kong's democracy

BEIJING, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese central government spokesperson on Thursday lashed out at the United States and a few Western countries for lecturing on Hong Kong's democracy.

It is ridiculous for these countries, with their own democracy in a state of mess, to comment on the democratic progress in Hong Kong, said a spokesperson for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council.

Opinion polls have shown that the United States is facing serious crises of trust among its people, and many countries no longer see U.S. democracy as a "model" to emulate, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson noted that for some time in the past, certain people in Hong Kong have blindly followed the U.S. model of democracy, and hostile forces inside and outside Hong Kong have taken advantage of the situation and the loopholes in the previous electoral system.

This had resulted in endless political wrangling and turmoil, and lingering problems concerning the economy and people's livelihood in Hong Kong, which, ultimately, made local residents suffer, the spokesperson said.

Noting that to bring Hong Kong's democratic development back on the right track, the central government has improved Hong Kong's electoral system in accordance with the law, the spokesperson said, adding that the advantages of Hong Kong's new electoral system have been fully demonstrated in its seventh Legislative Council (LegCo) election.

According to recent poll results, 70.8 percent of respondents said they believe the new LegCo would better safeguard Hong Kong's overall interests; and 72.8 percent expressed confidence in the new LegCo members executing their duties in accordance with the law and advancing good governance.

"We firmly believe that under the principle of 'one country, two systems,' Hong Kong will surely make new success in its democratic development, which will serve as a new model for democracy," the spokesperson said.