China rebukes UK for ‘colonial’ intervention over Hong Kong
CHINA accused Britain of a “colonial mentality” after Boris Johnson promised to let up to three million Hong Kongers into the UK if Beijing proceeds with a controversial national security law.
Mr Johnson had said that Britain could not “shrug our shoulders and walk away” if the Chinese Communist Party imposes a law designed to crush dissent in the former colony.
Zhao Lijian, China’s foreign ministry spokesman, issued a rebuke to Britain yesterday saying it had “recklessly commented” on Hong Kong “and made groundless accusations to interfere in Hong Kong affairs”.
Mr Johnson yesterday appealed directly to residents of Hong Kong in an article published in the city’s English language newspaper, the South China Morning Post.
Under the proposed visa reform, he said every one of the three million Hong Kongers eligible for British National Overseas (BNO) status would be granted the right to relocate to the UK for a renewable period of 12 months.
“This would amount to one of the biggest changes in our visa system in British history,” Mr Johnson wrote.
Beijing’s rubber-stamp parliament last week approved a security law that will tighten its control of Hong Kong by criminalising separatism, subversion, terrorism, foreign interference and “acts” that threaten national security.
Western nations and legal experts say this will end Hong Kong’s special autonomy and railroad the “one country, two systems” principle behind the legally binding joint declaration. Hong Kong activists fear the sweeping law, which is yet to be fleshed out, will be used to put a stop to the pro-democracy protests in the Asian financial hub.
Efforts to intensify pressure on China continued yesterday, with the heads of the foreign affairs committees in the British, New Zealand, Australian and Canadian parliaments urging Antonio Guterres, head of the UN, to appoint a special envoy to safeguard human rights in Hong Kong. The joint open letter, signed for the UK by Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative MP, asks the Secretary General to work with national leaders to push the UN Security Council to approve a mandate for an envoy.
China’s legislation would effectively bypass Hong Kong’s parliament, the legislative council. Carrie Lam, the city’s chief executive, told state media yesterday: “I felt at ease after the decision was made.” But she added: “As chief executive, I have to confess it is almost impossible to have the national security legislation enacted by the local legislative council in the near future.”
Hong Kong residents broadly welcomed Mr Johnson’s offer to extend immigration rights for those with BNO status, a holdover from the colonial era.
Yesterday HSBC’S most senior executive in Asia backed China’s national security law, breaking years of political neutrality for the Uk-based, Asia-focused lender. Peter Wong, the bank’s Asia-pacific chief executive, signed the petition backing the law. HSBC itself “respects and supports all laws that stabilise Hong Kong’s social order”, the bank said in a post on social media in China.