Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

China to ‘Fight Back’ As UK Suspends Hong Kong Extradition Deal

China to ‘Fight Back’ As UK Suspends Hong Kong Extradition Deal

BEIJING - China on Tuesday accused the United Kingdom of interfering in its internal affairs and said it would "fight back" after Britain announced it would suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong as a result of China's decision to impose a national security law on the territory.
An unnamed spokesman at the Chinese Embassy in London claimed the UK had repeatedly violated international law and the basic norms of international relations.
"The UK will bear the consequences if it insists on going down the wrong road," the spokesman said, according to the statement that was published on the embassy's website.
The UK announced on Monday its plan to suspend its extradition treaty with the former British colony.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told parliament the move would be effective immediately and that an arms embargo would also be extended to Hong Kong.
"We will not consider reactivating those arrangements, unless and until there are clear and robust safeguards, which are able to prevent extradition from the UK being misused under the new national security legislation," Raab said.
The United States, Australia and Canada have already suspended their extradition arrangements with the territory.
On Tuesday, the Chinese embassy spokesman added that "any attempt" to put pressure on China regarding the law "will meet the strong opposition" of its people.
"Such attempt is doomed to failure."
In a social media post, Joshua Wong, the most prominent leader of Hong Kong's civil rights and pro-democracy movement, said it was "not exactly wisest thing" to describe the national security law as part of China's domestic policies.
End of an era (Aljazeera)