China, UK Clash Over HK At UN Rights Meeting

Britain said on Tuesday that Beijing plan to impose national security legislation on Hong Kong would undermine the autonomy and freedoms of the SAR and breach China's commitments under the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Beijing's delegation pushed back, warning London to stay out of China's affairs.

"The imposition of the proposed law lies in direct conflict with China’s international obligations under the Joint Declaration, a treaty agreed by the UK and China and registered with the United Nations," Julian Braithwaite, Britain's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, told its Human Rights Council.

He urged Beijing to engage with the territory’s people, institutions and judiciary to "ensure it maintains Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and rights and freedoms".

Jiang Duan, human rights minister at China's Geneva mission, took the floor to say that Braithwaite had "interfered in China's internal affairs which we firmly reject".

"China's enactment of laws in the Hong Kong special administrative region to safeguard national security is aimed at plugging loopholes...and effectively safeguarding national sovereignty and security," he said. "This is legitimate, legal and imperative."

Pang Kwang Hyok, deputy ambassador at North Korea's mission, voiced concern at "certain countries' attempt to use Hong Kong-related issues to interfere in China’s domestic affairs". Hong Kong is "an inseparable part" of where China's sovereignty is exercised and its constitution is applied, he said.

Beijing last month moved to directly impose the legislation on Hong Kong in a bid to tackle secession, subversion and foreign interference in the SAR. (Reuters)