If foreign criticism whether warranted or unwarranted is unwarranted “interference,” as it’s so often called in pronouncements by the Chinese Communist Party, criticism of the criticism is also “interference.” A label that can be flung about so vapidly and indiscriminately tells us nothing about the rights and wrongs of conduct.
See what you think of this flapdoodle (China Daily, April 21, 2026):
China on Tuesday voiced strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition after the US State Department released its 2026 report on Hong Kong, which Beijing said was riddled with lies and fallacies and amounted to unwarranted interference in Hong Kong’s affairs.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said China has lodged solemn representations with the US, accusing Washington of engaging in a smear campaign with relation to Hong Kong.
Guo said the enactment and implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance have strengthened protection for the lawful rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents, supported the city’s prosperity and stability, and safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of the international community in Hong Kong.
He added that Hong Kong’s law-enforcement and judicial authorities act in accordance with the law in handling offenses that endanger national security, and that their actions are legitimate and beyond reproach.
Hong Kong affairs are purely China’s internal affairs….
He urged the United States to abide by the principles of international law and the basic norms governing international relations, and to stop interfering in China’s internal affairs in any form.
Here are some of the fallacies in this article claiming to fend off fallacies:
● The dissatisfaction of some in the Chinese government with justified criticism of CCP policies is relevant.
● Foreign criticism of a government’s repressive policies constitutes “unwarranted interference” and nullifies any validity of the criticism.
● True reporting of government actions is a smear.
● Rights, freedoms, and interests inconsistent with the Chinese Communist Party’s wishes and demands are necessarily illegitimate.
● Violating rights protects rights.
● Whether Hong Kong authorities act “in accordance with the law” as arbitrarily defined and asserted by the CCP is what determines whether those actions are justified.
● Anything going on within a country is properly immune to criticism from anyone in other countries.
● The “principles” and “norms” of international law dictate that nobody outside a country should report on or oppose repression being practiced by the government of that country.
● Announcing that a detailed report is riddled with lies and fallacies without specifying a single allegedly dishonest or fallacious detail is an unanswerable indictment.
If the logic of indicting criticism of evil as itself evil doesn’t hold up if pressed for longer than two and a half milliseconds, the same is true of the China Daily’s other non sequiturs and dropping of context.
Logic is inoperative even when Party propagandists claim to be exposing contradictions, avoiding of which is one purpose of logic. They pretend to be logical because logic has a certain inextinguishable prestige, and fake logic is a means of rationalization. But reason is a barrier to the promulgation of irrational views and an irrational worldview. Reason and logic are dethroned in the philosophies on which the Party relies; and, in practice, are implicitly repudiated.
Also see:
U.S. State Department: Conditions in Hong Kong… (April 16, 2026)
“Hong Kong authorities surveilled and prosecuted people who criticized the government or its policies and purported to apply the [National Security Laws] extraterritorially to engage in acts of transnational repression…. In response, State sanctioned six officials in March for their involvement in degrading Hong Kong’s autonomy and for transnational repression–related activities. Security services monitored activists, their families and acquaintances, and journalists in Hong Kong and abroad. In July 2025, police issued new arrest warrants and bounties of over $25,000 targeting an additional 19 overseas activists, including a U.S. citizen and U.S. residents. In May, police arrested the father of U.S.-based activist Anna Kwok and charged him under the SNSO [2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance] for allegedly handling the assets of his daughter.”
