The UK has suspended extradition treaty with Hong Kong amid issues with China and the national security law it imposed on the special administrative region.
According to British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, the UK would delay the extradition treaty with Hong Kong indefinitely. He told the House of Commons on Monday that China has committed a “clear and serious violation of the U.K.-China joint declaration, and with it a violation of China’s freely assumed international obligations.”
He pointed out that the arms embargo that has been applied to mainland China since 1989 to Hong Kong will be extended. This would lead to the suspension of all exports from the UK to Hong Kong of deadly weaponry, its components and ammunition, as well as any tools that could be used for “repression.”
The Chinese government denied the accusations of having violated international laws. Beijing has accused the US and UK instead of destabilization in the region by interfering in Chinese affairs.
National security law
The decision of the UK to suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong comes Beijing faces criticisms about its national security law, which considers secession, terrorism, subversion, and collusion punishable by life sentences.
“I am particularly concerned about Articles 55 to 59 of the law, which give mainland Chinese authorities the ability to assume jurisdiction over certain cases and to try those cases in mainland Chinese courts,” Raab said.
“The national security law does not provide legal or judicial safeguards in such cases, and I am also concerned about the potential reach of the extra-territorial provisions,” he added.
Raab noted that the British government will not pursue reactivation its prior arrangements with Hong Kong “unless and until there are robust safeguards which are able to prevent extradition from the U.K. being misused under the new national security legislation.”
China’s embassy in London was not able to give a comment when CNBC contacted them, but earlier on Monday Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stated that Britain should avoid taking the wrong path.
He mentioned on a daily briefing call that China would give its reaction to certain policies that interfere in its internal affairs, according to Reuters.
The extradition treaty, which had been in effect for over 30 years, meant that someone in Hong Kong who was in trial for a crime in the UK could serve justice at the British government’s request, and vice versa. Canada, US, and Australia have suspended similar treaties since the implementation of the new national security bill.
The UK has also provided visa rights to 3 million Hong Kong citizens when the bill was passed, with Western nations criticizing China for limiting the city’s autonomy.
Relations between London and Beijing have been waning on multiple fronts and worsened last week by the UK's decision to remove Chinese tech giant Huawei from the country’s 5G network.
