Pompeo, Raab Coordinate US-UK Policy To Pressure China On Hong Kong - State Dept.

Sumaira FH Published May 28, 2020 | 02:20 AM

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th May, 2020) US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo discussed with UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab coordinating bilateral diplomatic efforts to prevent China from imposing new national security measures on Hong Kong, Department of State spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a readout.

"Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo spoke with UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab today and discussed concerns over Beijing's effort to unilaterally and arbitrarily impose national security legislation on Hong Kong," the readout said on Wednesday evening.

Pompeo and Raab expressed support for a stable and prosperous Hong Kong and agreed that China had to honor its commitments and obligations under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the readout continued.

"Both agreed the international community must support the people of Hong Kong and respond to Beijing's continued erosions of Hong Kong's autonomy," the readout said.

The United Kingdom seized the territories that became Hong Kong after the Opium War of 1839 to 1842 and maintained control of it as a Crown Colony until it withdrew in 1997, when China re-established sovereignty ruling the territory as a special administrative region.