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UK warns China of serious consequences if Hong Kong rights not honored

02 July 2019 17:39 (UTC +04:00)

Britain warned China on Tuesday there would be serious consequences if Beijing broke its promises to protect freedoms in Hong Kong, after police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters, APA reports citing Reuters.

Officers moved in after crowds stormed and trashed the legislature in the former British colony on Monday, the anniversary of its return to Chinese rule, protesting against proposed legislation allowing extraditions to mainland China.

British foreign minister Jeremy Hunt condemned violence on both sides but said China needed to stick to commitments it made when it took back Hong Kong to allow freedoms there not enjoyed in mainland China, including the freedom to protest.

“There will be serious consequences if that internationally binding legal agreement were not to be honored,” said Hunt, who is a candidate to replace Theresa May as British Prime Minister.

“The UK signed an internationally binding legal agreement ... that enshrines the ‘one country, two systems rule’, enshrines the basic freedoms of the people of Hong Kong and we stand four square behind that agreement, four square behind the people of Hong Kong,” he told the BBC.