China firmly opposes external forces' interference in the judicial affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), as well as China's internal affairs, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press conference held in Beijing on Friday.
He made the statement to denounce the U.S. government's demand for releasing Lai Chee-ying.
"Lai Chee-ying is the principal mastermind and perpetrator behind the series of riots that shook Hong Kong. His moves seriously breached the principles and bottom line of One Country, Two Systems, endangered national security and hurt Hong Kong's prosperity and stability and Hong Kong residents' wellbeing. There is every reason to bring him to justice," said Guo.
"Hong Kong upholds the rule of law. No one should harbor the illusion of engaging in unlawful and criminal activities there with impunity. The central government firmly supports the Hong Kong SAR government in punishing criminal activities that endanger national security in accordance with the law and firmly rejects external forces' interference in Hong Kong's judicial affairs and China's internal affairs. China has rejected from the very beginning the illicit unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States on officials representing the central government in Hong Kong and officials of the Hong Kong SAR government. Our position remains consistent and clear," he said.
China firmly opposes external interference in Hong Kong's judicial affairs: spokesman
China released the outline of its 15th Five-Year Plan on Friday, highlighting digital intelligence development and high-quality population development as vital drivers of economic and social progress.
Including dedicated sections on the two themes, the plan calls for greater efforts to facilitate AI applications and establish life cycle care to safeguard the people's right to development.
Compared with the 14th Five-Year Plan, which focused on accelerating digitalization, the new concept of "digital intelligence development" places greater emphasis on the integration of artificial intelligence with the real economy, according to a macro economy expert.
"While the previous five-year plan caught the wave of digitalization, the new plan is embracing a new wave. As we all know, the new round of science and technology revolution, featuring the rapid development of AI, is thriving. The 15th five-year plan elaborates in a separate chapter how China can respond to the new trend of science and technology and industrial development. Compared with the previous plan, which emphasized 'digital economy,' the new plan highlights 'new intelligent economic forms,' which requires AI to be integrated into all aspects of economic development and to better empower growth. This will be an important direction for the future," said Dong Yu, Executive Deputy Director of the China Institute for Development Planning at Tsinghua University.
The plan also places new emphasis on high-quality population development, dedicating a separate section to supporting policies throughout the life cycle of its citizens based on China's long-term demographic trends.
"The role of human factors in China's development is becoming increasingly prominent. Economic work now places greater emphasis on combining investment in physical assets with investment in people. By dedicating a separate chapter to population issues, the plan is not focusing solely on birth rates. More importantly, it aims to build a full-chain support system covering needs from birth to growth to elderly care. The tasks laid out in the plan will match these needs, ensuring that the principle of putting people first is reflected across every stage of human development," said Dong.
China’s 15th five-year plan underscores digital intelligence, high-quality population development
