My TakeThe UK and Hong Kong have nothing to gain from finger-pointing
- Hong Kong and Britain have historical links that will not go away. With relations at rock bottom, both sides must find a path forward free of extreme rhetoric
Britain’s relations with China have weathered many a storm since the historic agreement to hand back Hong Kong was struck in 1984.
The colony’s last governor, Chris Patten, was famously branded “a sinner for a thousand years” by a top Chinese official in the 1990s. Prince Charles, meanwhile, described Chinese diplomats as “appalling old waxworks” and the 1997 handover as “the great Chinese takeaway” in diary entries later leaked to newspapers.
Even the “joint declaration”, the agreement on Hong Kong’s return, is largely expressed in terms of China says this, Britain says that.
Relations are now at rock bottom. Britain has been fiercely critical of political developments in the city, following the passing of a national security law in 2020. It has opened its doors to Hongkongers with British National (Overseas) passports and removed its two serving judges from the city’s top court.
British Foreign Office minister James Cleverly said earlier this month that the security law had been used to “curtail freedom, punish dissent and shrink the space for opposition free press and civil society”. But critics of the British government point out that it is passing its own controversial legislation to curb disruptive protests and protect national security.
It is easy to see why Britain stands accused of hypocrisy. The Public Order Bill cracks down on tactics used by climate change activists. These include attaching themselves to infrastructure such as roads or trains. Such acts will be criminalised. Police will be able to ban protests they believe could be seriously disruptive and use new powers to search suspects.