Britain has sought formation of a global alliance to work alongside the US, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Canada and challenge China’s controversial national security law for Hong Kong.

Expressing deep concerns over this proposed new security legislation, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, “This proposed national security law undermines the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ framework that I have described, under which Hong Kong is guaranteed a high degree of autonomy with executive, legislative and independent judicial powers.”

“It would be a different matter if Hong Kong were to pass its own security law and thus urged China to abide by its international obligations,” he said.

“As per the Hong Kong Basic Law, there are only a limited number of areas in which Beijing can impose laws directly, such as for the purposes of defence and foreign affairs, or in exceptional circumstances in which the National People’s Congress declares a state of war or a state of emergency,” Raab added.

Foreign Secretary Raab announced extended a visa-free entry to British national (Overseas) passports holders for 12 months and provide a “pathway to citizenship” for Hong Kong citizens if China does not respect its “international obligation”.

He said, “If not, the UK will not just look the other way when it comes to the people of Hong Kong. We will stand by them, we will live up to our responsibilities.”

At the start of the week, seven former UK foreign secretaries in a letter to the PM sought a global alliance for a coordinated response to the China-Hong Kong crisis.

Macau and Hong Kong are the only two cities that enjoy partial autonomy from the Chinese government.

Earlier, the UK PM’s office in a statement, said, “The UK Chargé d’affaires to the UN also raised the issue at the Security Council on Friday.”

ALSO READ | US will consider rejoining WHO if it ends corruption, reliance on China: White House

ALSO READ | US President Donald Trump terminates relationship with WHO over coronavirus, takes action against Hong Kong

ALSO WATCH | Donald Trump threatens to permanently freeze WHO funding