By William James
LONDON (Reuters) – The United Kingdom said on Wednesday that China’s imposition of a security law on Hong Kong was a “clear and serious” violation of the 1984 Joint Declaration and called on the People’s Republic to honour its international obligations.
“We have very carefully now assessed the contents of this national security legislation since it was published last night,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Reuters and the BBC.
“It constitutes a clear violation of the autonomy of Hong Kong, and a direct threat to the freedoms of its people, and therefore I’m afraid to say it is a clear and serious violation of the Joint Declaration treaty between the United Kingdom and China.”
Raab said he would set out shortly the action Britain would take with its international partners.
Hong Kong’s autonomy was guaranteed under the “one country, two systems” agreement enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed by then Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 after more than 150 years of British rule – imposed after Britain defeated China in the First Opium War.
“China, through this national security legislation, is not living up to its promises to the people of Hong Kong,” Raab said. “We will live up to our promises.”
The United Kingdom had urged China to step back from the brink over the new legislation and warned that such severe restrictions on freedom risk destroying one of the jewels of Asia’s economy.
Britain has pledged to give British National Overseas (BNO) passport-holders in Hong Kong a path to British citizenship, allowing them to settle in the United Kingdom.
“We will honour our commitments to the BNOs,” Raab said.
Asked about how the West should deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Raab said:
“Obviously, China is a leading member of the international community. And it is precisely because of that, that we expect it to live up to its international obligations and its international responsibilities, for trust in China’s ability to do that, today has been a big step backwards.”
(Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Stephen Addison)
