China hit out on Wednesday at opponents of Hong Kong’s new national security law, accusing the British government of having a “colonial mindset” and slamming the European Union’s “hypocritical” stance.
Hong Kong, a former British colony before its transfer to China in 1997, enacted a security measure known as Article 23 on Tuesday, punishing five offences following a rushed legislative procedure.
British foreign minister
British foreign minister David Cameron described it as a “rushed” procedure for a measure that would “further harm the rights and freedoms enjoyed in the city.”
In response, China’s de facto foreign ministry in Hong Kong accused the UK of “hypocrisy and double standards,” referring to London’s own national security legislation.
“The UK has made inflammatory and irresponsible comments about Hong Kong’s situation.” It’s all because of the deeply ingrained attitude of a colonizer and preacher,” the foreign affairs commissioner said in a statement Wednesday.
“We urge the UK to set its position right, face the reality, and give up on the fantasy of continuing its colonial influence in Hong Kong.”
In response to the EU’s criticism, the commissioner’s office expressed “strong disaffection and opposition” to the statements. “We urge the EU to envisage the strong appeal for the legislation in Hong Kong, and abandon its hypocritical double standards and prejudice,” the statement went on to say.
As part of the UK’s handover agreement with China, Hong Kong was granted certain freedoms, including judicial and legislative autonomy, for 50 years under the “one country, two systems” pact.
The agreement solidified the city’s standing as a world-class commercial hub, reinforced by a dependable court and political liberties distinct from the mainland. However, authorities reacted quickly to 2019’s enormous and often violent democracy demonstrations, in which hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents took to the streets to demand greater autonomy from Beijing’s authority.
Beijing’s implementation of security law
Beijing implemented a national security legislation on Hong Kong in 2020, penalising four crimes: secession, subversion, terrorism, and coordination with foreign forces. Since its passage, approximately 300 individuals have been detained under the legislation, and scores of politicians, activists, and other prominent figures have been imprisoned or pushed into exile, while civil society has been effectively suppressed.
The newly enacted law, which punishes treason, rebellion, theft of state secrets and espionage, sabotage, and foreign interference, will work together to fill “gaps” created by Beijing’s laws, according to Hong Kong’s leader John Lee.
The government has maintained that its formation was a “constitutional responsibility” under Article 23 of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, which has controlled the territory since its handover.
Criticism received
However, Cameron said that the fast-tracked legislation threatened the Sino-British Joint Declaration, an internationally binding pact reached in 1984 in which China promised to rule Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems” premise.
“I urge the Hong Kong authorities to…uphold its high degree of autonomy and the rule of law and act in accordance with its international commitments and legal obligations,” he stated. His comment was also criticised by the Chinese embassy in the United Kingdom, which termed it “a serious distortion of the facts”.
According to the embassy, the legislation, which mandates life imprisonment for treason and insurrection offences, “fully safeguards the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents”. “We urge the UK to cease its baseless accusations…refrain from interfering in China’s internal affairs under any pretext,” the statement stated.
The United States, the United Nations, the European Union, and Japan have all openly denounced the law. Vedant Patel, a State Department spokeswoman, said on Tuesday that the US was “alarmed by the sweeping and what we interpret as vaguely defined provisions” of the bill.
UN rights head Volker Turk described the measure and its “hurried” approval as “a regressive step for the protection of human rights.”
The EU questioned the law’s predicted impact on the city’s freedoms in general, but also stated that it had the “potential to significantly affect the work of the European Union’s office,” European consulates, and EU nationals in Hong Kong.
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