In a statement it released on Thursday, the United States Department of State expressed its "serious concern" about the situation in Hong Kong. But its real gripe was not what it called the "continued erosion of human rights and fundamental freedoms" in the special administrative region, but the impotence of its former proxies.

The concerns the US government expressed over the "teachers, labor unions, lawyers, journalists, healthcare workers, student unions and individual citizens" that "the increase in politically-motivated prosecutions, including through the National Security Law" are "targeting" do not stand up to scrutiny at all.

Those subject to law enforcement actions are a minority in their respective fields. However, the wide spectrum of so-called targets only shows the extent to which the US has attempted to infiltrate and influence Hong Kong affairs, and how aggrieved it is that its patronage should be rendered futile.

It is the US concerns about judicial procedures, which are based on complete chains of evidence and adhere to the law, that are politically motivated, since it was through these individuals and organizations that the US government tried to advance the cause of "freedom" and "democracy" in the SAR.

Under such a "lofty" pretext it has engineered "color revolutions" around the world for the purpose of embedding puppet regimes.

As for Hong Kong, the US' purpose has been to ruin it and turn it into a bridgehead for its containment of China, irrespective of the harm it does to the SAR economy and the livelihoods of Hong Kong residents.

The enforcement of the National Security Law for Hong Kong and the reform of the election system of the SAR have been timely and effective responses to the pernicious schemes of Washington. That the US State Department has voiced its displeasure at their potency attests to their successfully safeguarding the city's peace and stability by rendering the US proxies powerless to do its bidding.

The US government's lament over the disqualification of "scores of pro-democracy district councilors" is because the channels for the separatists it has patronized to hijack public organs are being blocked once and for all, and the days when it could take advantage of "democracy" and "freedom" as excuses to do as it wants in the SAR are now gone.

The release of the US State Department statement is just the latest attempt by the US government to meddle in China's internal affairs, and goes against the consensus the two leaders reached in their telephone talks last month that the two sides should make joint efforts to prevent their relations veering into conflict.

Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China, and concerns the country's core interests. The take-it-or-ruin-it approach the US has adopted toward the city will only consolidate China's resolve to defend the SAR's security and stability.

Hong Kong is not only a mirror reflecting the attitude of the US toward the basic norms of international relations, but also a touchstone of its sincerity in playing its part in keeping Sino-US relations on the right track.