|
|
Politics
Japan expresses regret over Hong Kong security law
Thursday, July 2, 2020
Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi
Tokyo- (PanOrient news) The Japanese government lamented China’s newly passed national security law, aimed at subduing protests in Hong Kong, in a statement from Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Tuesday.
“Japan expresses its regret over the enactment of the national security law on Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China despite strong concerns from the international community and the people of Hong Kong,” said the statement.
The law, passed by Beijing on Tuesday, discourages acts such as separatism, subversion and collusion with other nations through long prison sentences. Its intention seems to be cracking down on the sorts of pro-democracy protests that have raged in Hong Kong over the past year.
Calling Hong Kong an “extremely important partner” with which Japan has close economic ties and people-to-people exchanges, the statement emphasized that Japan’s long-standing position has been supporting a “free and open system” in Hong Kong, as well as its “democratic and stable development” under the One Country, Two Systems policy.
It added that the new law undermines the trust of the international community, which has built ties with Hong Kong under the One Country, Two Systems framework that have contributed to the region’s prosperity.
Japan said it would continue to call on China to ensure that the rights of Japanese nationals and companies in Hong Kong would “continue to be respected and protected in the same manner as before” and that the “rights and freedoms of the people in Hong Kong are respected.”- PanOrient News
© PanOrient News All Rights Reserved.
|
|
