The reaction of certain Western media outlets over the arrest of Chow Hang-tung, vice-head of the so-called Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, or Hong Kong Alliance, is almost predictable.

Repeating their common trick, they hyped up Chow's arrest with political messages, yet anybody with the most basic knowledge about it knows how ridiculous that claim is. To safeguard local people's health and safety, the Hong Kong police rejected HKA's application of assembly, but Chow insisted on calling people to assemble via social accounts, an act deemed illegal and which led to her arrest, as confirmed by local reports quoting the police.

It seems some political forces are so eager to badmouth China that they forget everything else. For them, attacking China comes before residents' lives. In order to show China in bad light they could side with the COVID-19 virus and call for assembly that might help the latter to spread.

And their ultimate purpose is clear: to launch a "color revolution" in China and subvert the legal regime. A move that will victimize the 1.4 billion people in China, including the 7.4 million residents of Hong Kong SAR.

There are still imported infection cases in Hong Kong and the local vaccination completion rate is only 16 percent. At a critical time to consolidate the anti-pandemic efforts, would some anti-China political forces please care a bit about people's lives?

Even Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong, secretary of HKA, said that Chow's words do not reflect those of HKA. He also said that HKA does not advocate assembly.

Stay legal, stay safe from the virus. That's what is needed in Hong Kong, not political speculation.