The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Saturday expressed strong disapproval of and firm opposition against criticism by some U.S. politicians and institutions on the arrest of a district councilor suspected of violating the law.

A spokesperson of the commissioner's office said that the politicians have shown no regard for the law and facts at all and are trying to smear the central government's Hong Kong policy.

Their remarks have constituted a flagrant interference with Hong Kong's rule of law and judicial independence, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson highlighted that the rule of law is a core value of the Hong Kong society."Everyone is equal before the law, and every effort is made to ensure laws are observed and strictly enforced and lawbreakers are prosecuted. No demand can ever justify crime, and no position can shield one from the law."

"By condoning and endorsing criminal acts without scruples and politicizing a judicial issue, the American politicians have only again exposed their entrenched ideological biases, double standards and insidious intent to mess up Hong Kong," said the spokesperson.