UK FM Raab: UK Will Stand Up For People Of Hong Kong

Following the expulsion of four sitting pro-democracy members of Hong Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo) and the subsequent resignation of the remainder of their pro-democracy colleagues in solidarity with those expelled, the UK gov't has released a statement on the issue.

• Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is quoted as saying "Beijing's imposition of new rules to disqualify elected legislators in Hong Kong constitutes a clear breach of the legally binding Sino-British Joint Declaration. China has once again broken its promises and undermined Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy. The UK will stand up for the people of Hong Kong, and call out violations of their rights and freedoms. With our international partners, we will hold China to the obligations it freely assumed under international law."
• The statement says that the UK gov't sees China's actions in suspending the members as a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, and that it believes it is the third time the agreement has been breached since 1997.
• The LegCo members were expelled after the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in Beijing passed a resolution on Wednesday that allowed the removal of those deemed to either encourage Hong Kong's independence, refuse to acknowledge China's sovereignty over Hong Kong, encourage foreign interference in Hong Kong, or in any other way threaten national security.
• There is unlikely to be any significant concern in Beijing over the UK gov'ts actions, given the LegCo will now be wholly composed of those loyal to Beijing. The UK's influence in Hong Kong has dwindled over the years, with the offer of a fasttrack to UK citizenship for British National (Overseas) passport holders the major foreign policy announcement from London, rather than any sanctions on China.