The Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom Dominic Raab has made his will clear through a very sensuous comment: he officially has questioned if China has the credibility to be trusted in following international law and obligations following several treaties after the Communist state’s move to instate a new national security law for Hong Kong.
Raab has also mentioned that the Sino-British treaty at 1997 has been breached and contravened by the move by China.
“China freely assumed international obligations to the United Kingdom … in relation to the way that it would treat Hong Kong and in particular, would respect the autonomy and freedoms,” Raab said.
“It’s a matter of trust, and lots of countries around the world are asking this question — does China live up to its international obligations? Because if they can’t be trusted to keep their word on Hong Kong, why would they be trusted to live up to their wider international responsibilities.
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The comments follow the remarks made by the Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming, who accused Britain of “gross interference” in China’s internal affairs by commenting on the new national security law in Hong Kong. Boris Johnson’s cabinet has officially made it clear that it will provide passports to hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers, in desperate attempt to escape from the effects of the said security law.
Hong Kong’s government has also introduced new “implementation rules” under the above legislation in a speedy retaliative action, which would basically allow police forces to regulate online content and their creators for the purposes of “preventing, suppressing and imposing punishment for any acts and activities endangering national security.
” The law has been passed without the city’s parliament’s approval or any premeditated discussion, and now the police can search properties without a warrant, can freeze assets when needed, contravene communication both online and offline.
The US has already moved on to put sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese authorities who have been inclement in this abrupt legal disruption. The Magnitsky-style sanctions being passed in parliament just hours ago, Raab was asked by the media if the legislation directly pinpoints sanctioning China under the new law.
“I am not going to pre-empt for pre-judge further designations now,” he said. “But we’re already working on what the next wave might be”.
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Replaced!