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Chinese police movements in Shenzhen are worrying. One Country, Two Systems helped Hong Kong prosper for 20 years but is under threat as @CommonsForeign reported. We said it was now more like One Country, One and a Half Systems. 1/9
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmfaff/612/612.pdf …
Since we published, things have degraded. The protests against the extradition law have spread. Young people worried they're losing their City have been joined by many more. The police response and the involvement of thugs has worsened the situation so much... 2/9pic.twitter.com/Lil2ATrETX
...that the Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, has said HK risks being pushed into the "abyss". This is hugely worrying for a people and city that is important to many not just in the UK but around the world. The UK also has enduring connections to the City. 3/9pic.twitter.com/IRgSCPUcfQ
Under the Sino-British Joint Declaration the HK Special Autonomous Region has a separate status until 2047 - 50 years after reunification with China. The Basic Law provides the constitutional underpinning of HK's status. The question now is: what should the world do? 4/9pic.twitter.com/qSn61piAT8
The UK has obligations under the Joint Declaration but its responsibilities go further. These are the actions we should consider: a) Extend full citizenship rights to the HK Chinese. This should have been done in 1997 and is a wrong that needs correcting. 5/9pic.twitter.com/WBm2fwB8OK
b) Make it clear with partners that the Joint Declaration is not just a bilateral agreement but a treaty lodged with the UN which therefore has weight of its own. One Country, Two Systems and the Basic Law cannot be changed on a whim. 6/9pic.twitter.com/PAEhXNuwZX
c) Urge China not to use outside forces in HK. d) Urge all those on the streets and at the airport to end the protests and seek political solutions to the current problems. 7/9pic.twitter.com/WBeNnojalC
e) Talk to Common Law jurisdiction partners - Aus, Can, NZ - about what conditions would trigger a withdrawal of judges. When does it become the erosion of civil rights make it impossible for our judges to work in a legal framework we would recognise? 8/9pic.twitter.com/qTeIqGQ9Ve
Each of these steps could be done now. They would show the world is concerned and recognises the rights both of the Hong Kong people and Beijing under existing treaties. Ending violence and finding a political solution is the only answer. We should do what we can to help. 9/9
Very worrying. My birthplace and home for 7 years. And my son is visiting both Beijing and Hong Kong in October.
Many fewer are eligible. Only those who secured their right as British Overseas Citizens would be.
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