In an arrogant employment of double standard, the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the US secretary of state issued a so-called joint statement pointing accusing fingers at the arrest of a number of anti-China elements by the Hong Kong police last week.

It is just the latest in the long sequence of interferences in the affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and China's internal affairs by politicians of these countries.

Contrary to the claim of these whitewashing Western politicians, the 53 people arrested on Jan 6 are not "democratic activists" but suspected subversives accused of conspiring to "paralyze the HKSAR government."

Hence, the Hong Kong police have done what any responsible law enforcement force in the world would have done.

The arrests fully comply with the national security law for Hong Kong. But these biased Western politicians have adopted a typical double standard on the national security law, repeatedly and viciously attacking it, while disregarding their own countries' national security legislation.

Their hypocrisy shows that they do not care about Hong Kong but only their malicious purpose in causing chaos in the SAR under the guise of democracy and freedom.

Since it came into effect, the national security law has proved its worth. It has filled the loopholes in Hong Kong's laws to prevent anti-government elements in the SAR from colluding with external anti-China forces, sounding the death knell for their plans to hijack Hong Kong's legislature and sabotage the SAR's social stability.

The introduction of the national security law has been a turning point for Hong Kong, as it has restored peace in the SAR after months of violent disturbances. Only by fully and firmly implementing the law can national security, Hong Kong's social stability and people's livelihoods be effectively protected.

China is a country under the rule of law, and Hong Kong is a society under the rule of law. No one can shake the determination of the central government and the SAR government to promote the steady and far-reaching development of "one country, two systems" under the protection of the national security law in Hong Kong.

A spokesman for the HKSAR government was quite right to say that the SAR's law enforcement agencies are duty-bound to take action against unlawful acts, regardless of the political background of the suspects.

But these Western politicians are setting themselves up as judge and jury by suggesting that people with certain political beliefs should be immune to legal sanctions if they broke the law. That is indeed appalling.