HKSAR chief executive's office questions U.S. Senator Cruz's "baffling" remarks

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Chief Executive's Office on Sunday said U.S. Senator Ted Cruz's remarks that he had not seen protesters' violence was "indeed baffling."

Regional Flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and Chinese National Flag flutter at Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, China, 1 September 2014. [File Photo: IC]

A spokesman of the Office of the Chief Executive said while they respect the freedom of speech of foreign politicians, they consider that comments should be based on facts.

Unrests have raged for months in Hong Kong as rioters smashed metro stations, set fires to shops, assaulted police with fire bombs and beat up residents who uttered different political views.

On Sunday evening, a police officer was injured after a rioter slashed his neck with a sharp object in an escalation of violence against the police.

The spokesman said in the statement that "everyone can see from media reports that violent protesters conducted violent and vandalistic acts on many occasions in Hong Kong in recent months."

"It is indeed baffling for Mr Cruz to say that he had not seen protesters' violent acts," it said.

"Before expressing their views, foreign politicians should put thought into the actions they would have taken if the same situation happened in their own country, instead of criticising Hong Kong irresponsibly or even expressing support or endorsement in any form for violent acts," said the statement.

It said Chief Executive Carrie Lam had planned to meet Cruz at his request, but it was canceled due to Lam's other duty commitment. The meeting was scheduled to be closed doors on Saturday, as with Lam's previous meetings with various foreign guests, and Cruz had raised no objection to this arrangement, it said.