The British prime minister Theresa May has stepped into the growing crisis over China’s controversial plan to change the extradition law for Hong Kong citizens, by saying it was vital this did not breach the joint British-Chinese declaration, agreed at the time of the city’s return to China in 1997. In her first comments since protests started in the semi-autonomous city last week, the British prime minister said she was deeply concerned and the UK had a special responsibility to speak out in favour of freedoms in the former British colony.
“We are concerned about [the] potential effects of these proposals particularly obviously given the large number of British citizens there are in Hong Kong,” May told parliament. “But it is vital that those extradition arrangements in Hong Kong are in line with the rights and freedoms that were set down in the Sino-British joint declaration.”
“We are concerned about [the] potential effects of these proposals particularly obviously given the large number of British citizens there are in Hong Kong,” May told parliament. “But it is vital that those extradition arrangements in Hong Kong are in line with the rights and freedoms that were set down in the Sino-British joint declaration.”
