UTV | COLOMBO – Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is expected to suspend the UK’s extradition treaty with Hong Kong later amid rising tensions between London and Beijing.
It comes after China imposed a controversial national security law on the territory, introducing new crimes with severe penalties.
The UK has already offered residency rights to three million Hong Kongers.
China has accused the UK of “brutal meddling” in its internal affairs.
Beijing has insisted it is committed to upholding international law, and has promised a “resolute response” if the UK withdraws from extradition arrangements.
Mr Raab is due to make a statement to Parliament later.
The extradition treaty means that, if someone in Hong Kong is suspected of a crime in the UK, then the British authorities can ask Hong Kong to hand them over to face justice – and vice versa.
The UK fears the arrangement – which has been in place for more than 30 years – could see anyone it extradites to Hong Kong being sent on to China.
Hong Kong has extradition agreements with 19 other countries apart from the UK, including Canada and Australia, which have already suspended theirs following the imposition there of China’s new security law – which makes acts of subversion punishable by life sentences.
Hong Kong is a former British colony. It was handed back to China in 1997 but, as part of an agreement signed at the time, it enjoys some freedoms not seen in mainland China.
But political and economic relations between the UK and China have become strained in recent months.
Earlier this month, the UK decided to ban Chinese tech firm Huawei from its 5G network, citing security concerns denied by the company.
Special status
The UK, US and EU have accused Beijing of undermining the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, which has guaranteed a high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong since it was handed back to Chinese rule in 1997.
They say the security laws which came into force last month breach the terms of the 1984 Joint Declaration protecting political and economic freedoms – which agreed the conditions under which Hong Kong would be run when Britain gave it back to China in 1997. BBC
