Britain signals it will suspend extradition treaty with Hong Kong
- Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is expected to make the announcement on the Hong Kong treaty when he addresses Parliament on Monday
- The move is likely to stop short of sanctioning Chinese officials
Britain will on Monday announce plans to suspend or revoke its extradition treaty with Hong Kong, but will stop short of sanctioning Chinese officials, the South China Morning Post has learned.
The move will further exacerbate London’s diplomatic stand-off with Beijing, as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo begins his London visit to hammer out an Anglo-American strategy on China with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is expected to make the announcement on the Hong Kong treaty when he addresses Parliament on Monday, after weeks of lobbying from lawmakers to suspend a legal instrument they fear could be used by Hong Kong for political persecution in future.
The Post was briefed about Raab’s move by a source with knowledge of his thinking after the foreign secretary signalled that an imminent change to the extradition treaty could be under way.
“On Hong Kong, I’m going to go to the House of Commons tomorrow to make a further statement on the work we've been doing with our partners in government,” Raab told Sky News.
