The Chinese government said Johnson’s comments amounted to foreign interference in its internal affairs
(Bloomberg) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he will give as many as three million Hong Kong residents the chance to seek refuge and a new life in the U. K. if China presses ahead with plans to impose a new security law on the former British colony.
The premier’s intervention marks an escalation in London’s pressure on Beijing over its proposals for a law that democracy advocates say will erode the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. China warned that it would “backfire.”
“Many people in Hong Kong fear their way of life, which China pledged to uphold, is under threat,” Johnson wrote in an article published in The Times of London newspaper. “If China proceeds to justify their fears, then Britain could not in good conscience shrug our shoulders and walk away; instead we will honor our obligations and provide an alternative.”
The Chinese government said Johnson’s comments amounted to foreign interference in its internal affairs and said China has fulfilled all its obligations under the agreement that saw Hong Kong returned to the communist state in 1997.
