Chief Secretary Eric Chan on Thursday called an opinion piece from the Wall Street Journal “biased” and “flawed”.

In a letter to the WSJ, Chan pointed out that Chief Executive John Lee had personally received an invitation to attend the Apec meeting to be held later this month in the US, despite claims made by the journal in its October 29 piece that he was barred from attending the event.

“We wish to again put the record straight that the Chief Executive has personally received the invitation from the United States to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders’ Meeting to be held this month in San Francisco,” Chan said in the letter.

"Due to scheduling issues, the Chief Executive would not be able to attend the meeting to represent Hong Kong, China in person and has appointed the Financial Secretary to attend the meeting on his behalf."

John Lee is one of a number of SAR officials under US sanctions, which Beijing has condemned as illegal.

The WSJ article also noted Hong Kong will press ahead with plans to pass national security legislation of its own.

The Chief Executive had said his government is drawing up options for the new laws under Article 23 of the Basic Law, and it will complete the legislative process next year.

In the letter to WSJ, Chan said: “Stability is an important pillar of our city, contributing to its status as an international financial centre.”

“Your attempt to smear our law enforcement actions is contemptible. We are also appalled by your failure to recognise the constitutional responsibility and practical needs for us to legislate on Article 23 of the Basic Law.”