US, Australian, Canadian and British diplomats released a joint statement on Sunday condemning the detention of more than 50 Hong Kong activists and citing evidence that the city’s strict new national security law is being used to attack dissidents.
Officials in Hong Kong announced about 55 arrests last week, the largest mass arrest since China imposed the new national security order in 2020, The Associated Press reported. All but three have been released on bail.
The majority of the detainees had taken part in an unofficial pre-election to a now-postponed parliamentary election, which, according to Hong Kong authorities, was a violation of the law.
“It is clear that national security law is being used to eliminate dissent and opposing political views,” said the joint statement of the US Secretary of State. Mike Pompeo
Mike Pompeo Pompeo, Cruz and other Trump allies condemn Twitter’s ban on President Sanders defends push to impeach Trump: uprising will not be tolerated Pompeo meets Biden nominee for state as part of transition MORE, Australian Foreign Secretary Marise Payne, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Canadian Foreign Secretary Francois-Philippe Champagne. “We call on the central authorities of Hong Kong and China to respect the legally guaranteed rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong without fear of arrest and detention.”
Pompeo announced separately this weekend that the US will lift diplomatic restrictions on its relationship with Taiwan, which previously acted as a concession to Beijing, which considers the island to be Chinese territory.
Hong Kong officials accused the diplomats of undue interference in sovereign affairs, saying, “We are shocked by the comments of some foreign government officials who seemed to suggest that people of certain political beliefs should be immune from legal sanctions.”
Western diplomats called the National Security Act one of the most explicit measures taken by the Chinese government to erode Hong Kong’s autonomy since the British government handed over control in 1997 under a “one nation, two systems” rule. It followed protests that lasted much of 2019 over a since-repealed law that would have allowed the extradition of some suspects to China.