ISTANBUL

China Tuesday blasted the US, the UK, and others on Hong Kong, saying the “so-called freedom of the press” is a “tool some countries use to attack and smear others.”

Beijing was reacting to a statement by the members of the Media Freedom Coalition which said it is “deeply concerned” at the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese authorities “continued attacks on freedom of the press and their suppression of independent local media in Hong Kong.”

“China deplores and firmly rejects this so-called statement from a handful of countries in the name of ‘Media Freedom Coalition,’” said Wang Wenbin, spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry.

He said the cases of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and American whistleblower Edward Snowden have “already shown the world that the so-called ‘freedom of the press’ is just a tool some countries use to attack and smear others.”

“These countries care little about the freedom of the press when their selfish interests are involved,” said Wang, according to a transcript of his news conference held in Beijing.

An Australian citizen, Assange is battling an extradition case to the US and is languishing in jail in the UK while Snowden fled to Russia where he currently lives.

While Assange published US military and diplomatic cables on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, Snowden leaked highly classified information from the US National Security Agency in 2013.

Wang called it a “smear” against press freedom in Hong Kong and an “attack” on the local government’s “legitimate law enforcement and a move to embolden those who are anti-China and engaged in destabilizing Hong Kong such as Jimmy Lai.”

Incarcerated Lai, founder of now-closed Apple Daily, early Tuesday pleaded “not guilty” in a case accusing him of threatening Hong Kong's national security and colluding with foreign forces.

His trial began on Dec. 18 which is expected to last 80 days.

Wang, however, called it a “fact” that the number of international media outlets and journalists in Hong Kong “has increased from before the national security law was introduced.”

“We urge relevant countries to fully respect the fact that Hong Kong has already returned to China and abandon their colonial mentality. Any attempt to interfere in Hong Kong affairs in the name of the freedom of the press is doomed to fail,” he added.

According to the website of Media Freedom Coalition, it was established in July 2019 and now comprises 50 member states from six continents.

The statement on Hong Kong, released last Friday, was signed by at least 24 nations.