Boris Johnson on Wednesday pledged to extend the right of Hong Kong residents with UK passports to live and work in the country. The Prime Minister today accused China of ‘a clear and serious breach’ of a treaty with Britain after a contentious national security law was imposed on the territory.
He told MPs he would introduce a new route for those with British national (overseas) status to live and work in the UK and apply for citizenship, which could potentially extend the right for nearly three million people, reports Metro.
It comes after Beijing passed harsh new legislation late last night aimed at curbing subversive, secessionist and terrorist activities, as well as foreign intervention in the city’s affairs.
It follows months of anti-government protests as Hong Kongers fear Beijing chipping away at its democratic freedoms.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Johnson told the Commons: ‘The enactment and imposition of this national security law constitutes a clear and serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
‘It violates Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and is in direct conflict with Hong Kong Basic Law.
‘We made clear that if China continues down this path we would introduce a new route for those with British national (overseas) status to enter the UK, granting them limited leave to remain, with the ability to live and work in the UK and thereafter to apply for citizenship - and that is precisely what we will do.’
Mr Johnson followed Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in accusing China of breaching the treaty that aimed to smooth the transition when the territory was handed back to China in 1997.
In a statement outside the Foreign Office, Mr Raab accused China of not ‘living up to its promises’ over the freedom for people to peacefully protest in Hong Kong, adding: ‘We will live up to our promises to them.’
It comes after hundreds of protesters headed to the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay today after the People’s Republic confirmed some suspects could be extradited to Beijing and tried through their judicial system.
Riot police fired water cannons and pepper spray at demonstrators and reporters, and a man carrying a black flag reading ‘Hong Kong independence’ was the first person to be arrested under the new law passed.
More than 70 arrests were made in Hong Kong today, which marked 23 years since the territory handover.
The new law directly targets some of the actions of anti-government protesters last year, including attacks on government offices and police stations, damage to subway stations, and the shutdown of the city’s international airport.
Acts of vandalism against government facilities or public transport can be prosecuted as subversion or terrorism, while anyone taking part in activities deemed as secessionist would also be in violation of the new law.
The PM warned if Beijing enacted the law he would upgrade the status of British national (overseas) passports held by 350,000 people in Hong Kong, with a further 2.5 million eligible to apply.
He previously said the nationals would be granted immigration rights beyond the current six-month limit.
Mr Johnson is under pressure from across the political spectrum to take a firmer stance against Beijing, including over the role of Chinese firm Huawei in the UK’s 5G network.
He was also facing calls to act over the breach of the 1985 Sino-British Joint Declaration, the legally binding agreement to give Hong Kong a level of autonomy for at least 50 years.
Ahead of the PM’s commitment, Labour’s shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy called on the Government to ‘lay out the concrete steps’ to fulfil its commitments to the people of Hong Kong.
‘Now is not the moment to look away,’ she said.