International opposition mounts against China’s proposed security law for Hong Kong
- British, Australian and Canadian foreign ministers stress that Sino-British Joint Declaration remains legally binding
- EU says ‘democratic debate, consultation of key stakeholders and respect for protected rights and freedoms in Hong Kong’ needed before passing law
As China took the first step to impose a new national security law on Hong Kong, international opposition grew on Friday, with the foreign ministers of Britain, Australia and Canada issuing a joint statement of alarm about the move and the European Union calling for the need to preserve the city's high degree of autonomy.
“We are deeply concerned at proposals for introducing legislation related to national security in Hong Kong,” the statement by British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, and his Australian and Canadian counterparts, Marise Payne and François-Philippe Champagne, said.
“Making such a law on Hong Kong’s behalf without the direct participation of its people, legislature or judiciary would clearly undermine the principle of ‘one country, two systems’, under which Hong Kong is guaranteed a high degree of autonomy.”
The three foreign ministers stressed that the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, signed when Britain first agreed to hand over Hong Kong, then its colony, to Chinese control, remains legally binding and requires the city to maintain a high degree of autonomy until 2047.
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New law will ‘prevent, stop and punish’ activities endangering national security
Moreover, they said, the treaty “also provides that rights and freedoms, including those of the person, of the press, of assembly, of association and others, will be ensured by law in Hong Kong, and that the provisions of the two UN covenants on human rights (the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) shall remain in force”.