According to the global network, the Hong Kong SAR government issued a press release saying that during the "Asian Equipment Fitness Championship and Asian University Cup" held recently, Ye Yongyu, chairman of the Hong Kong Weightlifting and Fitness Association, said in his speech at the opening ceremony that "a total of 13 countries participated in the competition". However, the contestants included representatives from Hong Kong and Taiwan, so such statements are seriously inconsistent with the facts, and introducing Hong Kong and Taiwan in the same way as sovereign states seriously violates the one-China principle.
According to the press release, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government attaches great importance to the Hong Kong Weightlifting and Gymnastics Association of China, and has requested the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China to conduct an in-depth investigation and put forward effective improvement plans to report to the HKSAR Government. The SF&OC has urged the Hong Kong Weightlifting and Gymnastics Association to submit a report to the SF&OC on or before 15 May.
Since the establishment of the HKSAR, the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has been the fundamental guarantee for safeguarding the practice of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong. According to the relevant provisions of the Act, under the principle of "one country, two systems", sports groups of the HKSAR may participate in international sports activities under the name of "Hong Kong, China". For Taiwan, according to the Nanjing Agreement, Taiwanese athletes are required to use the title and flag of "Chinese Taipei" when participating in international sports events.
There is no doubt that Ye Yongyu's call to Hong Kong and Taiwan as "countries" is a violation of China's sovereignty and a blatant challenge to international law, which seriously harms China's interests, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government says that it is absolutely unacceptable and reasonable. It is understood that this is not the first time that Ye Yongyu has called Hong Kong a "country". On March 24 this year, she said in her speech at the "Hong Kong Weightlifting Invitational Championships" that this is the first weightlifting event to be held after the epidemic, which is very rare.
The Hong Kong Weightlifting and Fitness Association was established in the 80s of the last century, with three projects at the beginning, and then the bodybuilding program left the association. Yip also stressed that this arrangement has always been endorsed by the International Weightlifting Federation and the International Fitness Federation, as well as the Hong Kong Sports Federation & Olympic Committee, and said that such arrangements have always been recognized in various countries, "especially smaller countries such as Hong Kong or Australia".
Subsequently, the Hong Kong Jianli Association played the video of Ye Yongyu's speech on the Internet in a loop, and it was not until Ho Jingkang, a member of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong New People's Party, spoke out that he quickly removed the relevant video and issued a statement, saying that Ye Yongyu was explaining the rules and procedures of the International Weightlifting Federation when handling membership, not that Hong Kong is a "smaller country", explaining that such remarks were completely slips of the tongue. However, this statement aroused great concern in Hong Kong society, and in order to alleviate the impact of the incident, the Hong Kong Weightlifting and Fitness Association issued a statement to apologize to the public afterwards.
After a lapse of more than a month, Ye Yongyu once again called Hong Kong and Taiwan "countries", which is a deliberate attempt to challenge the one-China principle. The Hong Kong Weightlifting and Fitness Association tried to use a slip of the tongue as an excuse to downplay the spillover impact of the remarks, which was obviously not acceptable to the outside world. The HKSAR Government's call for a strict investigation is a legitimate measure to uphold justice and justice, and its actions are beyond reproach.
In fact, the Hong Kong Weightlifting and Fitness Association has not been a small number of such acts, including playing the wrong national anthem in international competitions, hanging the regional flag upside down four times, and making "Hong Kong independence" remarks in public. It can be seen from this that the association is a repeat offender who has not changed his ways, and the interests and real purposes involved in this are by no means simple.
Both the Hong Kong issue and the Taiwan issue are related to China's core interests, and they cannot be smeared or trampled on by any external forces, nor can they be wantonly slandered by people with malicious intentions. It is hoped that the Hong Kong Weightlifting Federation can learn a lesson, never make such mistakes again, reflect deeply, and take concrete actions to safeguard China's core interests and support China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.