Raab: Suspending extradition treaty with Hong Kong is a necessary and proportionate response to China’s actions

By Gareth Jones, Newgate Public Affairs

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab today told the House of Commons that the UK will suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong "immediately and indefinitely" after the "imposition" of the new national security law in Hong Kong by China. The Foreign Secretary stated that China’s new security law was a "serious violation" of the country's international obligations and has changed key assumptions underpinning the UK’s extradition treaty with Hong Kong – for example, it could now see anyone the UK extradites to Hong Kong being sent on to mainland China to be detained or face trial. Raab also announced that the UK would extend the arms embargo to Hong Kong, which currently applies to mainland China and would ban the export of any equipment that may be used for internal oppression (such as shackles, interception equipment and firearms). 

Raab claimed that these measures were a necessary and proportionate response to China’s new security law. He said that there remains considerable uncertainty about the way in which the security law will be enforced and added that “the UK is watching and the whole world is watching."

While today’s announcement represents a further deterioration of UK-China relations, Raab’s statement was measured in tone and he was careful to stress that the UK "wants a positive relationship" with China. This echoed comments from the Prime Minister earlier today, who stressed that, despite the change in extradition arrangements, the government would not “completely abandon our policy of engagement” with Beijing. Boris Johnson insisted he was not going to be “pushed into a position of becoming a knee-jerk Sinophobe on every issue, somebody who is automatically anti-China”. He added that, “China is a giant factor of geopolitics, it’s going to be a giant factor in our lives and in the lives of our children and grandchildren. You have got to have a calibrated response and we are going to be tough on some things but also going to continue to engage.” This could arguably be seen as a message to his own backbench MPs and, in particular, the increasingly influential China Research Group of Conservative MPs, who advocate a tough approach in dealing with Beijing. 

Elsewhere today, in positive news, a potential coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University has been shown to trigger an immune response with no dangerous side effects. Findings published today show that the initial trials, involving 1,077 people, showed the injection led to them making antibodies and T-cells that can fight coronavirus. The vaccine will now move on to the next stage of its trials, where it will be tested by more than 10,000 people. Responding to this news, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons that the government is getting deals in place for vaccines so once known to be "safe and effective" they can be made available to the public quickly, adding that, "we have already secured 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine if it succeeds."