Britain on Wednesday “strongly urged” the Hong Kong government to “re-consider” plans for a new national security law, as a month-long consultation over the legislation drew to a close.
Massive pro-democracy protests rocked the finance hub in 2019, bringing hundreds of thousands of people to the streets to call for greater freedoms.
In response, Beijing imposed a national security law to punish four major crimes — secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces — with sentences ranging up to life in prison.
See also: What is Article 23? Hong Kong’s homegrown security law is back in the spotlight
Officials last month said Hong Kong’s own security law was also needed to plug “loopholes”, with justice chief Paul Lam saying he had heard no objections during a month of public consultations that ends on Wednesday.
Britain is the former colonial power in Hong Kong, handing over control to China in 1997.
The Sino-British Joint Declaration that set the conditions of the handover stipulated that for 50 years, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) would “maintain a high degree of autonomy and that the rights and freedoms… would continue.”
Foreign minister David Cameron said Wednesday that the new law failed to uphold the treaty’s obligations.
“I strongly urge the Hong Kong SAR Government to re-consider their proposals and engage in genuine and meaningful consultation with the people of Hong Kong,” said Cameron.
“As a co-signatory to the Joint Declaration, the UK has a responsibility to ensure that those rights and freedoms are maintained,” he added.
Since the British handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997, the city has been under a “One country, two systems” regime, in which the legal and court structures are separate from the mainland.
Under its mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, Hong Kong is required to make its own law combating seven security-related crimes, including treason and espionage.
The last legislative attempt in 2003 was shelved after half a million Hong Kongers took to the streets to protest the move.
Dateline:
London, United Kingdom
Type of Story: News Service
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