RAAB GETS TOUGH OVER HONG KONG
He tears up extradition treaty after China security crackdown
BRITISH universities are braced for an exodus of Chinese students who account for £1.7billion of their income.
Nine institutions depend on them for more than a fifth of their tuition fee revenue.
University College London tops the list with 6,245 students paying an estimated £127million, followed by Manchester University with 5,605 students delivering £110million. The Chinese student population in the UK is put at around 120,000.
BRITAIN is set to tear up its extradition agreement with Hong Kong today as Dominic Raab warns the country must be ‘very careful’ in its dealings with China.
In a move that will further escalate tensions, the Foreign Secretary is expected to announce that the Government will no longer hand over suspects to the former British colony.
It follows Beijing’s imposition of a repressive security law in the territory that effectively outlaws public protest.
Relations between China and Britain have become increasingly strained as they have clashed over coronavirus, Hong Kong, human rights and Chinese telecoms firm
Huawei. Liu Xiaoming, Beijing’s ambassador to the UK, yesterday accused the Government of ‘dancing to the tune of the Americans’ over its decision last week to ban Huawei from its 5G network.
UK mobile providers will not be allowed to buy Huawei 5G equipment after the end of this year and will have to remove all of its 5G kit from their networks by 2027.
Mr Liu said China was ‘still evaluating the consequences’ as he warned the UK had ‘missed the opportunity to be a leading country’ through its decision. He accused the Government of ‘purging’ the firm ‘under the pressure of the United States’.
Today in the Commons Mr Raab will announce he is suspending the country’s extradition treaty with Hong Kong in response to Beijing’s enactment of a national security law there.
The contentious legislation criminalises secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces but also curtails rights to protest and freedom of speech. The rules apply outside the borders of China.
This has stoked fears that Beijing could try to use the extradition mechanism to drag any overseas residents involved in pro-democracy activism back to Hong Kong. The UK does not have an extradition treaty with China.
In response to the law, the Government
earlier this month offered around three million Hong Kong residents the right to settle in the UK and ultimately apply for citizenship but ministers have faced pressure from their own backbenchers to go further. A group of 17 Tory MPs, including former
Cabinet ministers David Davis and Damian Green, signed a letter urging the Foreign Secretary to follow allies including Canada, the US and Australia that have already moved to suspend extradition arrangements with Hong Kong. Others such as New Zealand are also reviewing their relations.
Mr Raab said yesterday there ‘won’t be business as usual’ with China after the coronavirus pandemic and urged caution.
Appearing on Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, he said: ‘I think we need to be very careful in our dealings... We have said there won’t be business as usual after Covid-19 and we are working with our international partners to get a proper independent review of what happened but we also want to
make sure that we’re not slipping into some outdated dogmatic approach with China.’
Shaun Bailey, the Tory candidate for London mayor, last night called for the capital to be no longer twinned with Beijing. He said: ‘London is a global city, and the world is watching us and the example we set.
‘But what kind of signal are we sending when we continue a relationship with a government that is seeking to curtail human rights with new security laws in Hong Kong, while overseeing the cruel persecution of its Uighur Muslims? London must send a message that China’s behaviour is unacceptable.’
He added: ‘That is why, as mayor, I would end our capital’s twinned status with Beijing.’