Boris Johnson said in a message broadcast on the social network Twitter, one day after 25 years of the transfer of territorial sovereignty.
This went on for a while, allowing the city to continue to “flourish and prosper,” but on this 25th anniversary, “we simply cannot overlook the fact that Beijing has abandoned its commitments for some time.”
The UK Prime Minister said: “The current situation threatens the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong and their continued progress and prosperity.”
“25 years ago, we made and intend to keep a promise to the region and its people, doing everything in our power to ensure that China fulfills its commitments, so that Hong Kong is once again run by the people of Hong Kong and Hong Kong,” Johnson said.
In 1997, China took control of Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems” principle, which would maintain the city’s economic, political, and judicial systems, distinct from the political system in mainland China, for 50 years.
But the controversial National Security Law and other measures related to Hong Kong’s executive power have brought the territory’s judicial and political system closer to that of mainland China.
The National Security Law, passed by Beijing in 2020, provides for life sentences in cases of separatism, terrorism or collusion with foreign forces, among other things.
Since then, dozens of activists, opposition politicians, journalists and academics have been arrested under this law in Hong Kong, putting an end to the pro-democracy movement that began in 2019.
JPI // PAL
Lusa / end
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