The Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) government and the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in the Macau SAR on Saturday firmly opposed the comments made by the European External Action Service, under the European Union, on the upcoming Legislative Assembly election in the Macau SAR.
The Macau SAR government said in a statement that the election is completely the internal affairs of the SAR, which brooks no interference from any foreign institution.
The SAR government said that the Macau Legislative Assembly Electoral Affairs Commission’s decision to disqualify certain candidates from running in the election was the execution of power endowed by the Legislative Assembly Election Law to examine the qualifications of candidates, adding that the commission’s decision on the matter was affirmed by Court of Final Appeal (TUI) of the Macau SAR.
The statement stressed that the basic rights of Macau SAR residents, including the right to vote, the right to run in an election and freedom of speech, are not only protected by the Basic Law of the Macau SAR and relevant laws, but are also fully safeguarded by the SAR’s administrative, legislative and judicial organs.
The SAR government said it would, just as always, continue to support the commission to perform its duties in accordance with the law to ensure that the upcoming Legislative Assembly election goes smoothly.
Voicing strong dissatisfaction with and resolute objection to the EU comments, the commissioner’s office said in a statement that the comments were blatant interference in Macau’s affairs and China’s internal affairs at large, which seriously violated international law and the basic norms governing international relations.
No one is more sincere or resolute than the central government to comprehensively and accurately implement the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, and no one cares more than the central government about Macau’s prosperity, stability and residents’ well-being, the statement pointed out.
Any attempt to interfere in the SAR’s affairs is doomed to fail, it added. – Xinhua
