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‘A Clear and Serious Violation,’ Top British Diplomat Says of China
On Monday, the United Kingdom suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in protest of a new security law that gives China sweeping powers.
We have been clear regarding the new national security law, which China has imposed on the people of Hong Kong. A clear and serious violation of the U.K.-China joint declaration and with it a violation of China’s freely assumed international obligations. On the first of July announced that we are developing a bespoke immigration route for British nationals overseas and their dependents, giving them a path to citizenship in the U.K. The U.K. will extend to Hong Kong the arms embargo that we’ve applied to mainland China since 1989. To be clear, the extension of this embargo will mean there will be no exports from the U.K. to Hong Kong of potentially lethal weapons, their components or ammunition, and it will also mean a ban on the export of any equipment not already banned which might be used for internal repression. The national security law does not provide legal or judicial safeguards in such cases. I am also concerned about the potential reach of the extraterritorial provisions. So I’ve consulted with the home secretary, the justice secretary and the attorney general, and the government has decided to suspend the extradition treaty immediately and indefinitely. I should also tell the House that we would not consider reactivating those arrangements unless and until there are clear and robust safeguards which are able to prevent extradition from the U.K. being misused under the new national security legislation.
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