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Group of Seven countries urge China to reconsider Hong Kong national security law
- In a statement, the group expresses ‘grave concern regarding China’s decision to impose a national security law on Hong Kong’
- The statement is issued just hours before the National People’s Congress standing committee is expected to convene a meeting in Beijing on Thursday
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China has come under mounting pressure to scrap its plan to launch a national security law in Hong Kong, with all foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries issuing a rare joint statement on Wednesday.
“We strongly urge the government of China to reconsider this decision,” the statement read.
The statement was issued just hours before the National People’s Congress standing committee was expected to convene a meeting in Beijing on Thursday, with no clear indication whether the national security law would be discussed or not.
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While the details of the law remain confidential, it emerged on Wednesday that Hongkongers could be extradited to mainland China for trial, according to Hong Kong’s sole delegate to the top legislative body in China.
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In the statement, the seven foreign ministers, alongside EU’s top diplomat, expressed “grave concern regarding China’s decision to impose a national security law on Hong Kong”.
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