UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised on Thursday not “leave” Hong Kongin a statement during the 25th anniversary of the retrocession of that semi-autonomous territory to China.
“We are not abandoning Hong Kong,” the British leader declared in a video posted on Twitter. “25 years ago, we made a promise to the territory and its people and we intend to keep it, to do everything we can so that China fulfills its commitments and Hong Kong is once again run by and for its people”he added.
“We simply cannot ignore the fact that, For a long time, Beijing has not fulfilled its obligations.”he added, as Hong Kong marks the historic anniversary of the handover with a visit from Chinese leader Xi Jinping. “It is a state of affairs that threatens both the rights and freedoms of Hongkongers and the continued progress and prosperity of their home.”
This Friday’s anniversary marks the halfway point of the 50-year governance model agreed by the UK and Chinaaccording to which the city would maintain certain autonomy and freedoms.
But London has become increasingly critical of Chinese rule in the city after Beijing imposed a tough national security law in 2020 following huge and sometimes violent protests in Hong Kong the year before.
In response, the UK has begun to offer a pathway to citizenship for British national (overseas) passport holders and their city families. “It is no wonder that 120,000 Hong Kongers and their families have already embarked on that path,” Johnson said in his video address.
Johnson called the UK “a place where freedom of expression, assembly and association are respected and not criminalized.”though critics have accused his government of treating the protests in an increasingly draconian way.
On Thursday, during his first visit since the downtown democracy movement was crushed in 2020, Xi said Hong Kong had been “reborn from the fire and emerged with robust vitality.” “The facts have shown that One Country, Two Systems has great vitality,” he said, referring to promises Beijing made in 1997 that the city would retain a high degree of autonomy and an independent judiciary.
Also it agreed that Hong Kong’s leader would be appointed by Beijing on the basis of local elections or consultations.
However, echoing Johnson, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss stated that in the last two years there had been “a constant erosion of political and civil rights” in the city.
“The authorities have suppressed the opposition, criminalized dissent and expelled anyone who can speak the truth to power,” he said.
“The United Kingdom continues to support Hong Kong unwaveringly”Truss said, adding that London was “working with our allies and partners as part of a global freedom network to make China.”
With information from AFP
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Source-www.infobae.com