UK, US, Australia and Canada hit out against new Hong Kong security legislation
China’s new security legislation will “dramatically erode Hong Kong’s autonomy” and impinge on its citizens civil liberties, according to a joint statement from the UK, US, Australia and Canada.
A letter signed by foreign ministers of the four nations said the new clampdown by China was a breach of “the legally-binding, UN-registered Sino-British Joint Declaration” made when the UK handed Hong Kong back over to China in 1997.
The new legislation, passed by China’s parliament today, would make it a illegal to undermine the authority of the Communist Party of China in Hong Kong.
It will also likely lead to the set up of Chinese security agencies in Hong Kong for the first time.
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists have labelled the new legislation as an attack on the the region’s autonomy and a move to bring it further under the control of Beijing.
A joint statement by US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab, Australian foreign minister Marise Payne and Canadian foreign minister François-Philippe Champagne decried Beijing’s latest incursion into Hong Kong.
“The proposed law would undermine the One Country, Two Systems framework,” the statement read.
“It also raises the prospect of prosecution in Hong Kong for political crimes, and undermines existing commitments to protect the rights of Hong Kong people – including those set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.”
Beijing has yet to outline what will specifically be in the new legislation, but it is expected to include laws against insulting the party to mirror those in place on mainland China.
It comes after months of protests last year in Hong Kong, after Beijing tried to implement new treaties to make it easier to extradite criminals to the mainland.
Protestors in Hong Kong have rallied against the new legislation, with police arresting 300 people yesterday.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said the new laws were a threat to Hong Kong’s current level of autonomy under the One Country, Two Systems framework implemented by China.
“The steps taken by the Chinese government place the joint declaration under direct threat and undermine Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy,” he said.