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China can no longer be seen as complying with the Sino-British handover agreement on Hong Kong’s status, according to Britain.
Hong Kong Democracy Protests 2019. File photo.
“Beijing’s decision to introduce sweeping changes to restrict participation in Hong Kong’s electoral system is another clear violation of the legally binding Sino-British declaration,” Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said in a statement.
“Britain now considers that Beijing does not comply with the Sino-British statement,” the British Foreign Office wrote in the same statement.
It is unclear whether the British approach will have political or economic consequences.
Hong Kong was under British rule for more than 150 years, but was handed over to China in 1997. Beijing then made a binding promise to preserve the freedoms and rights enjoyed by Hong Kongers under the slogan “one country, two systems.” .
This summer, China pushed through a controversial national security law, which is widely considered to have broken the region’s independence and restricted the democracy movement’s ability to operate, which many consider a breach of contract.
Another proposal was drawn up on Thursday, giving the communist dictatorship decisive influence over the candidate lists ahead of the Hong Kong elections.
