UK, Australia And Canada Concerned Over HK Autonomy

The foreign ministers of the UK, Australia and Canada on Friday issued a joint statement, expressing concern over plans by Beijing to introduce a national security law into Hong Kong via the National People's Congress in Beijing.

"The legally binding Joint Declaration, signed by China and the UK, sets out that Hong Kong will have a high degree of autonomy," the statement said.

"It also provides that rights and freedoms, including those of the person, of the press, of assembly, of association and others, will be ensured by law in Hong Kong, and that the provisions of the two UN covenants on human rights (the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) shall remain in force,"

Dominic Raab of the UK, Marise Payne of Australia and Francois-Philippe Champagne of Canada also said "making such a law on Hong Kong’s behalf without the direct participation of its people, legislature or judiciary would clearly undermine the principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems’, under which Hong Kong is guaranteed a high degree of autonomy."

Beijing is expected to pass a wide-ranging national security law, which will then be introduced into an annex of Hong Kong's Basic Law under Article 18.

The Basic Law states that Hong Kong shall introduce national security legislation on its own through Article 23. However, the Hong Kong government's first attempt to do so in 2003 was shelved following a mass demonstration.

Beijing, though, has become increasing unnerved by huge - and often violent - street demonstrations, that began last year following an attempt by the SAR government to bring in a law that would have allowed extradition to mainland China.

These subsequently morphed into anti-government, pro-democratic protests, that Beijing says have been supported by "foreign forces".