The United Kingdom (UK) said on Thursday that China had violated terms of the Sino-British joint declaration by imposing new rules that disqualified opposition legislators in Hong Kong, and warned that it would consider sanctions as part of its response.
The move comes after China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee approved a resolution that gave Hong Kong’s local authorities the power to bypass local courts and instantaneously remove politicians viewed as a threat to national security. Consequently, four Hong Kong lawmakers who have so far supported the territory’s pro-democracy movement were immediately unseated. The same assembly members had previously been banned from running for re-election, as authorities deemed that their pledge of allegiance to Hong Kong was not earnest.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that by employing such measures, China had “once again broken its promises and undermined Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy” and assured that Britain would “stand up for the people of Hong Kong” and work with allies to hold the Chinese government accountable for its obligations under international law.
The UK also summoned China’s ambassador, Liu Xiaoming, to express concerns, while Nigel Adams, Raab’s deputy and the Minister for Asia, told the British parliament that the government was considering imposing sanctions on individuals as countermeasures to China’s actions. “We will continue to consider designations under our Magnitsky-style sanctions regime,” said Adams, though he did not provide details of the individuals that will be targeted.
The European Union (EU) also called on Beijing to revoke the rules that were undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy. Furthermore, the territory’s pro-democracy opposition legislators all handed their resignations in on Thursday afternoon, to protest the ejection of four of their colleagues from the city assembly whom Beijing had deemed secessionist. The city’s Legislative Council is now left with 43 legislators, 41 of whom are considered pro-establishment. The elections for the council were scheduled for September 6 this year but now have been postponed, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
China, for its part, has defended its actions. Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday: “No country would turn a blind eye to acts of betrayal of the country by public officials.” Meanwhile, Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office warned opposition lawmakers from taking reckless decisions that would allow for foreign interference in the territory. “We have to tell these opposition lawmakers, that if they want to use this to advocate a radical fight, and beg for foreign forces to interfere, and once again drag Hong Kong into chaos, that’s a wrong calculation,” it said.
UK Considers Sanctioning China for Breaching Hong Kong Treaty
China disqualified four pro-democracy Hong Kong legislators deeming them secessionist.
November 13, 2020
SOURCE: FT