Govt strongly condemns US politicians' sanctions call
The government on Thursday said it strongly condemns and opposes US politicians' remarks criticising the SAR's homegrown national security legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law.  It comes after a congressional committee and commission both wrote to the US government, demanding it impose sanctions on SAR officials, judges, prosecutors and police officers.  In a statement, the government said the letter made slandering remarks and despicable threats against relevant personnel.  A spokesman for the SAR government said the so-called sanctions mentioned in the letter were a "despicable political manipulation to intimidate officials", and amounted to gross interference in the affairs of Hong Kong and the nation. The statement said safeguarding national security was an inherent right of all sovereign states.  It said the US had at least 21 pieces of legislation safeguarding national security and was in no position to point its finger at Hong Kong for doing the same.  The government also defended a recent national security trial against 47 people, saying the conviction of 45 of them over a conspiracy offence showed the scale and the seriousness of the criminal scheme.