We have approached the 20th anniversary of the handover of
Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), yet
few in Britain are aware of the dire situation in its former colony. Memories
appear to be short and only a handful of Westminster politicians regularly
raise concerns about the crackdowns on freedoms in Hong Kong. Now it’s time for
Parliament to wake up and fulfil our obligations to Hong Kongers.
The question of Britain’s right to speak out on matters
relating to Hong Kong is clear cut. The Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed
in 1984, is a legally-binding international agreement. It promised Hong Kong a
high degree of autonomy after it was handed to the mainland in 1997. This
established Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the PRC and
established the principle of ’One-Country Two-Systems’ until 2047.
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Read full article here.