London: British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Wednesday the national security law in Hong Kong is ''designed to crush political dissent,'' following the arrest of 53 former lawmakers and democracy proponents.
Wednesday's mass arrests were the largest move against Hong Kong’s democracy movement since the law was imposed by Beijing last June to quell dissent in the semi-autonomous territory.
Raab said the mass detention was an attack on Hong Kong's freedoms which are protected by the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
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He said the UK will not ''look the other way'' when rights and autonomy of the people of Hong Kong are ''trashed''.
The British government would continue to offer people with a British national overseas status the pathway to UK citizenship.
Following the handover of Hong Kong to China by the British in 1997, the city has operated on a “one country, two systems” framework that affords it freedoms not found on the mainland.
In recent years, Beijing has asserted more control over the city, drawing criticism that it was breaking its promise of Hong Kong maintaining separate civil rights and political systems for 50 years from the handover.
AP
