Great Britain is one of the western countries that offer to offer millions of Hong Kong refugees in response.
London:
The Beijing ambassador to London on Monday accused Britain of “blatant interference” in China’s internal affairs “over its response to a controversial national security law in Hong Kong.
The British government has said it will provide Hong Kong residents with a wider path to citizenship in response to the new radical security law in the former British territory.
The move could pave the way for more than three million Hong Kongers to settle in Britain.
But Chinese Ambassador Liu Xiaoming said that Beijing has expressed “deep concern and strong opposition” to the proposals, arguing that London has “no sovereignty, jurisdiction or supervisory rights over Hong Kong”.
“These measures constitute a blatant interference in the internal affairs of China and trample on basic standards governing international relations,” he told reporters.
Last week, China promulgated the radical security law for the troubled city of about 7.5 million people, prohibiting acts of subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.
The legislation, which sent a wave of fear across the territory, has criminalized dissenting opinions such as calls for independence or autonomy.
Great Britain is one of the western countries that offer to offer millions of Hong Kong refugees in response.
London has stated that it has a duty of care to the residents of a colony it returned to China in 1997, under an agreement to preserve its autonomy and freedoms for 50 years.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson told parliament last week that he would allow anyone with British National (Overseas) (BNO) status – and their dependents – to come to Britain and possibly obtain citizenship.
About 300,000 Hong Kongers have a BNO passport and 2.6 million are eligible.
However, Foreign Minister Dominic Raab admitted last week that Britain could be powerless if China decided to prevent a mass exodus.
Johnson’s spokesman reiterated on Monday that the law was “a clear and serious violation” of the 1984 Sino-British joint declaration governing Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule.
“We have said that we will make changes to the immigration rights of the BNOs if China implements this legislation and we have kept that promise,” he added.
Liu said that Beijing is considering the reciprocal actions to take.
“We have to wait and see. We have to decide our countermeasures based on what the actual actions [are] to be taken by the British side, “he added.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
