US and UK officials threaten to strip Hong Kong of its special status

China’s decision to press ahead with national security legislation for Hong Kong has led to threats from the US and the UK that the territory will lose its special status.

China says the law is necessary because there are national security concerns in Hong Kong that need to be addressed.

Democracy campaigners, diplomats and people from the business world have raised concerns that the legislation will jeopardise Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous status and its role as a financial hub.

The UK handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997 with an agreement to protect the special status of the city under a “one country, two systems” formula.

This guaranteed certain freedoms in Hong Kong, including an independent legal system, until 2047.

The international community responded swiftly to the threat to Hong Kong’s semi-autonomous status, with Australia, Canada and the European Union all condemning the national security law.

On Friday, the UK said it was prepared to offer extended visa rights and a pathway to citizenship for Hong Kong citizens, while the US said it had started to strip the territory of several privileges.

On Thursday, UK Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said Britain would extend the rights of 350,000 British national overseas passport holders if China introduced the law.

On Friday, the UK said this policy would apply to all BNOs in Hong Kong – a group of about 2.9 million people, according to British government figures.

US President Donald Trump said his administration would begin to eliminate the “full range” of agreements that had given Hong Kong a relationship with the US that mainland China lacked, including exemptions from controls on certain exports.

“China has replaced its promised formula of one country, two systems, with one country, one system,” Mr Trump said, but did not elaborate on the US’s position.

Both nations also raised alarm at the UN Security Council in an informal, closed-door video conference.

China said the issue had no place at the world body and an editorial in the Chinese newspaper People’s Daily accused the US of interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs.

“This hegemonic act of attempting to interfere in Hong Kong affairs and grossly interfere in China’s internal affairs will not frighten the Chinese people and is doomed to fail,” it said.

Protests broke out in Hong Kong last year over an extradition bill with China that was eventually withdrawn.

The demonstrations raged for months until lockdown measures to stop the spread of coronavirus drove thousands of people indoors.

Demonstrations over the new law have been muted, with many protesters and campaigners citing fears of contracting the virus and threats to their employment as reasons for staying at home.

The situation in Hong Kong was discussed informally at the UN Security Council, a move that China criticised