Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told parliamentarians on Monday that the United Kingdom wanted to work with Beijing, but that the new security law imposed by China on Hong Kong had “significantly changed the key assumptions” underlying the accords. extradition.
Critics say the law, which was not released to the public until after its approval, marks an erosion of the former British colony’s civil and political liberties; The Chinese and local governments argue that it is necessary to stop the riots and defend continental sovereignty.
“Obviously we have concerns about what is happening in Hong Kong and the Foreign Secretary will hear a little later on how we are going to change our extradition arrangements to reflect our concerns about what is happening with the security law in Hong Kong. ” Johnson said on the sidelines of a visit to a school in Kent, southeast England, on Monday.
Speaking specifically about China, the UK Prime Minister also said that his government had “concerns about the treatment of the Uighur minority obviously, about human rights abuses”, promising a “tough” but balanced approach to the second-largest economy. largest in the world, without abandoning the UK’s “policy of compromise”.
“China is a giant factor in geopolitics, it will be a giant factor in our lives and in the lives of our children and grandchildren,” he said. “You must have a calibrated response and we are going to be tough on a few things, but we are also going to continue to participate.”
“There is a balance here,” added Johnson. “I will not be pushed to become an instinctive synophobe on all issues, someone who is automatically anti-China, but we have serious concerns.”
CNN’s Jessie Yeung contributed reporting.
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