On Wednesday, Beijing had refused to allow a formal Security Council meeting called by Washington on the same subject to proceed.
(Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP)
As China’s legislature unanimously passed the security bill on Thursday, planned to curb to secession, subversion, terrorism, and foreign interference, the United States and Britain have called for the UN Security Council to meet on Friday.
The meeting will discuss the controversial security law that China plans to impose on Hong Kong, reports AFP. The subject will be considered in an informal, closed-door video-conference in a format that allows any member to raise various issues and which China cannot in principle oppose, according to the same sources.
On Wednesday, Beijing had refused to allow a formal Security Council meeting called by Washington on the same subject to proceed.
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United States has already expressed its concern over the recent development. US National security advisor Robert O’Brien renewed a warning on Sunday saying US might revoke Hong Kong’s special trading privileges if China enacts the law.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said last week that the proposed law, which China’s rubber-stamp legislature is expected to act on quickly, would be a “death knell for the high degree of autonomy Beijing promised for Hong Kong.” He said that China’s continued respect for Hong Kong’s democratic institutions and civil liberties was “key to preserving its special status under US law.”
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