UK's Johnson pledges to let in Hong Kong citizens if needed

3/6/2020 19:02

        British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the United Kingdom stands ready to open the door to almost 3 million Hong Kong citizens, as the city's leader arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for meetings on a planned national security law that has many worried about their future.
        
        Johnson said in a column published online by the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong newspaper, that the security law would curtail freedoms in Hong Kong and conflict with China's obligations under its agreement with the United Kingdom when it took back the former British colony in 1997.
        
        "Many people in Hong Kong fear their way of life — which China pledged to uphold — is under threat," he wrote. "If China proceeds to justify their fears, then Britain could not in good conscience shrug our shoulders and walk away.”
        
        China shocked many of Hong Kong's 7.5 million people when it announced earlier this month that it will enact a national security law for the city, which was promised a high level of autonomy outside of foreign and defense affairs.