The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Monday strongly condemned the opposition camp for holding illegal "primaries" and damaging the fairness of the upcoming Legislative Council (LegCo) election. 
  
The office also said foreign interference in Hong Kong's political affairs will never be allowed. 
  
A spokesperson for the office expressed firm support for the HKSAR government to investigate illegal acts in the so-called "primaries" and safeguard a fair LegCo election in a statement. 
  
The LegCo election due in September has strict legal procedures and a fair election concerns the well-being of the Hong Kong society and residents, the spokesperson said. 
  
The so-called "primaries" organized by some opposition figures, who were backed by external forces, seriously challenged the existing election system and jeopardized the fairness of the election, the spokesperson said, adding that personal information of many residents were collected, which is suspected of violating the law on privacy.

The spokesperson said Benny Tai Yiu-ting, a major coordinator of the "primaries," is suspected of violating the law. 
  
Tai, his accomplices and the opposition camp attempted to seize the governance power of Hong Kong and wage a Hong Kong version of "color revolution," the spokesperson said. 
  
Some even claimed that their goal is to control the LegCo, veto the budget of the HKSAR government, paralyze the government, destroy Hong Kong and subvert the state, which is suspected of breaching the national security law and Hong Kong's election law, the spokesperson said. 
  
The spokesperson expressed strong condemnation and noted Tai is still on bail pending appeal after being sentenced to 16 months of imprisonment for his involvement in the 2014 illegal "Occupy Central" movement. 
  
The spokesperson hoped the upcoming LegCo election will be held in a fair and orderly manner and stressed that the so-called "primaries" go against the will of Hong Kong residents to have a fair election. 
  
Anyone who colluded with external forces to oppose the country, harm "One Country, Two Systems," and separate Hong Kong from the motherland is doomed to fail, the spokesperson said.

The HKSAR government said on Monday that it will investigate illegal acts in opposition camp's so-called "primaries" as a large number of complaints on the activity have been filed with the government. 

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The organizer of the "primaries" vowed to veto the government's budget after winning the election, according to the complaints. The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau of the HKSAR government said the aim of the organizer may lead to committing the offense of subversion as stipulated in the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the HKSAR. 
  
The law states that a person shall be guilty of an offense if he or she seriously interferes in, disrupts, undermines the performance of duties and functions in accordance with the law by the body of the central power of the People's Republic of China or the body of the power of the HKSAR by force or threat of force or other unlawful means. 
  
The government is conducting an in-depth investigation and will immediately refer the case to relevant law enforcement agencies in case of any violation of the relevant laws, the bureau said. 
  
The bureau reiterated the commitment to ensuring that public elections are held in an open, fair and honest manner and said the format, procedure and results of the so-called "primaries" held by the opposition camp are not in line with the law. 
  
HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam said Monday in a statement that Hong Kong does not have the system of "primaries" for the LegCo election and stressed that the government will take action if there is enough evidence of illegal acts found during the investigation.

Manipulating Hong Kong LegCo election won't be allowed

A spokesperson for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said Tuesday that it will never allow any illegal manipulation in the LegCo election. 

The spokesperson condemned the so-called primaries, saying that such acts constitute illegal manipulation of the LegCo election and pose a blatant challenge to the HKSAR Basic Law and national security law for the HKSAR. 

The spokesperson expressed resolute support for punishing such illegal acts in accordance with the law.