WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and made a number of other changes after China’s decision to pass a national security law for the territory, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Tuesday. .
FILE PHOTO: New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters arrives for a press conference after attending an emergency meeting of the Islamic Cooperation Organization (ICO) in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 22, 2019 REUTERS / Murad Sezer
“New Zealand can no longer rely on the Hong Kong criminal justice system to be sufficiently independent of China,” Peters said in a statement.
“If China in the future shows adherence to the ‘one country, two systems’ framework, then we might reconsider this decision.”
Beijing imposed new legislation on the former British colony earlier this month despite protests from Hong Kong residents and western nations, setting the financial center on a more authoritarian path.
Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom suspended extradition treaties with Hong Kong earlier this month. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, ended preferential economic treatment for Hong Kong.
Peters said New Zealand will treat exports of dual-use and military goods and technology to Hong Kong in the same way that it treats those exports to China as part of a review of its overall relationship with Hong Kong.
The travel advice has been updated to alert New Zealanders to the risks presented by the new security law, he added.
In a statement on the website, the Chinese embassy in New Zealand called the decision a violation of international law and serious interference in China’s internal affairs.
“The Chinese side has raised serious concerns and strong opposition,” an embassy representative said in the statement.
China is New Zealand’s largest trading partner, with annual bilateral trade recently exceeding NZ $ 32 billion ($ 21 billion).
New Zealand’s ties to China have recently weakened after the Pacific nation endorsed Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organization (WHO).
Praveen Menon’s report; Sam Holmes and Clarence Fernandez edition
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