Boris Johnson promises not to ‘give up’ Hong Kong

LBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised Thursday, June 30 not to “give up” Hong Kong, in a statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the return to China of the former British colony. “We are not giving up on Hong Kong,” the British leader said in a video on Twitter. “25 years ago, we made a promise to the territory and its people and we intend to keep it, to do everything we can to ensure that China keeps its promises so that Hong Kong is once again run by the people of Hong Kong, for the people of Hong Kong,” he added.

The head of government of the former colonial power believes that “for a while”, Beijing has not complied with its obligations, a “state of affairs which threatens both the rights and freedoms of Hong Kongers and the pursuit progress and prosperity” of their territory. Since Beijing took control of the pro-democracy protests that engulfed the city in 2019, London claims to have received more than 120,000 residence applications from Hong Kongers with British overseas passports.

In a press release, British Foreign Minister Liz Truss denounced “the constant erosion of civil and political rights” in particular since the introduction of the national security law on June 30, 2020. “The authorities have stifled opposition, criminalized dissidents and ousted all who could speak truth to power,” she added.

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