Boris Johnson offers 3 million Hong Kong residents chance to seek refuge in UK
China's legislature approved a proposal to impose a highly contentious national security law in Hong Kong on May 28
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that he will give as many as three million Hong Kong residents a chance to seek refuge in the UK if China presses ahead with plans to impose a new security law on the former British colony.
"Many people in Hong Kong fear their way of life, which China pledged to uphold, is under threat," Boris Johnson wrote in an article published in The Times of London newspaper on Wednesday.
On May 28, China's legislature approved a proposal to impose a highly contentious national security law in Hong Kong.
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The law came into the discussion since a Chinese official, on May 20, said that China is trying to impose new national security legislation on Hong Kong after last year's pro-democracy unrest.
The decision drew a warning from the US President Donald Trump that Washington would react "very strongly" against the attempt to gain more control over the former British colony.
The US State Department also warned China, saying a high degree of autonomy and respect for human rights was key to preserving the territory's special status in US law, which has helped it maintain its position as a world financial centre.
