The US has called on China to abandon the planned reform of the electoral law in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The envisaged changes are a “direct attack” on the 1997 established autonomy rights of the metropolis, said Foreign Office spokesman Ned Price on Friday in front of journalists in Washington.
Image: APA (AFP)
“The United States stands by the people of Hong Kong (…) who seek nothing more than the universal rights (…) to which they are entitled,” said Price.
Beijing has announced that it will control the elections in the former British crown colony more closely in the future. According to a bill, all candidates for the Hong Kong parliament will in future be nominated by an election committee loyal to Beijing.
With the introduction of a controversial security law for the Special Administrative Region last year, the Chinese government significantly increased the pressure on government opponents in Hong Kong. The law allows the authorities to crack down on any activity that they believe threatens China's national security.
It represents the most serious encroachment to date on Hong Kong's 50-year autonomy rights, which were established for 50 years when it was handed over in 1997. Beijing responded to the mass protests in 2019 with the so-called security law.
