Downing Street warned China to respect the autonomy of Hong Kong after the Chinese Communist Party submitted plans for a controversial new law that could crush dissent in the former British colony. The intervention from No 10 came as Hong Kong braced for its first mass pro-democracy protests for months after Beijing said it would bypass the city’s legislature to bring in sweeping new powers limiting freedom. At the opening of its National People's Congress (NPC) this week, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said China would establish a "sound" legal system and enforcement mechanisms to ensure national security in Hong Kong and Macau. But pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, as well as much of the international community, said the plan was an assault on Hong Kong's freedoms, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calling it a "death knell" for the city's high degree of autonomy. Under the agreement signed when Hong Kong became a Chinese region, rather than a British colony, in 1997, China pledged to respect the "one country, two systems" principle, guaranteeing Hong Kong freedoms not seen on the mainland. A Downing Street spokesman said: "We expect China to respect Hong Kong's rights and freedoms and high degree of autonomy. As a party to the joint declaration the UK is committed to upholding Hong Kong's autonomy and respecting the one country, two systems model." Asked if the proposals breach that model, he said: "We are monitoring this closely and our immediate priority is to clarify the details of what is being suggested." Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, said he was "deeply concerned". In a joint statement with Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne and Canadian Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne, he said China was "undermining the principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems’". US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, already at odds with China on a number of fronts including a blame game over the coronavirus pandemic and robust opposition to countries working with the Chinese company Huawei to develop 5G networks, condemned the move.
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