PM talks tough as UK suspends Hong Kong extradition treaty
BORIS JOHNSON signalled he would be “tough” with China as the Government announced changes to extradition arrangements with Hong Kong.
Further measures were set out yesterday in response to China’s imposition of a tough new national security law on Hong Kong amid growing tensions with Beijing.
The Prime Minister promised a balanced approach to relations with Beijing rather than a “kneejerk” anti-Chinese policy.
The UK followed the example of the US, Canada and Australia and suspended an extradition treaty with Hong Kong because of the impact of the security law on the territory.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab also announced an arms embargo on mainland China would also be extended to Hong Kong.
The move risks further infuriating Beijing which was already smarting over the Government’s decision last week to exclude the tech giant Huawei from the UK’s 5G network – reversing a decision in January allowing it a limited role.
The Prime Minister said: “There is a balance here. “I’m not going to be pushed into a position of becoming a knee-jerk Sinophobe on every issue, somebody who is automatically anti-China.
“But we do have serious concerns.”
Those included the treatment of the Uighur minority and alleged human rights abuses as well as the situation in Hong Kong.
But the Prime Minister said he would not “completely abandon our policy of engagement” with China.
“You have got to have a calibrated response and we are going to be tough on some things but also going to continue to engage,” he said.
Mr Raab has accused the communist regime of committing “gross, egregious human rights abuses” against the country’s Uighur population in the northwestern Xinjiang province.
And yesterday he told Labour MP for Halifax Holly Lynch an interview with the Chinese ambassador to the UK on the Andrew Marr Show at the weekend “truly harrowing”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Ms Lynch said: “I was alarmed like many others to hear the Chinese ambassador to the UK, when asked about forced mass sterilisations, say that he couldn’t rule out single cases.
“The Foreign Secretary has already said that he’ll be looking to work with international partners on further establishing that evidence base of human rights abuses against the Uighur people in particular.
“Can he go further and explain exactly what conversations he has had so we can further inform our decision making and further actions?”
Mr Raab replied: “I think the whole House will share the disgust and the horror at the idea anywhere, any number of cases of forced sterilisation.
“And the testimony we saw on the Andrew Marr Show yesterday I think was truly harrowing, something I certainly hadn’t seen before of that nature.”
On Sunday Chinese ambassador Liu Xiaoming denounced Britain for “dancing to the tune” of the US and accused Western countries of trying to foment a “new cold war” with China.
He rejected allegations of widespread abuses against the mainlyMuslim Uighur people, accusing “so-called Western intelligence” of making repeated “false allegations” against China.
You have got to have a calibrated response.