Protestors in the UK held demonstrations across the country, calling for the government to act on the Sino-British Joint Declaration, a treaty signed with China in 1984.
In light of recent political escalation across Hong Kong, protestors argue that the UK government should hold China to its promise under the declaration, which stipulates that Hong Kong should maintain a high level of autonomy.
Earlier this year, the Chinese Foreign Ministry posted a statement appealing other countries to stop interfering with the country’s internal affairs. Chinese diplomat Lu Kang also said that the Sino-British Joint Declaration was a historical document without any practical significance.
On November 23, the demonstrators, dressed in black and wearing masks, gathered across the UK. In London, they gathered in Parliament Square then marched to 10 Downing Street to hand in a letter to the UK government.
At the London protest, Benedict Rogers, the founder of NGO Hong Kong Watch, implored outside of Downing street, that “The UK absolutely has a responsibility to take a lead now, and has a moral obligation given our history.
“ More importantly, we have a legal obligation as a signatory to the Sino-British Joint Declaration which China is blatantly flouting.”
The demonstrators then headed to King’s College, The London School of Economics and Piccadilly Circus, where they chanted “Five demands, not one less” and “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong” throughout the march.
Protestors dressed in black and wear mask to attend march.
(Yiling Cheng)
Student Thomas Liu told Raven News that he has been focusing on Hong Kong protests for almost six months. Though he began hoping that the situation would improve, he feels things have become worse. Today, he stood with protestors in central London, hoping to raise awareness about the situation in Hong Kong.
The demonstration was initiated by the group “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.” and “Democracy for Hong Kong – D4HK”. Similar marches organised by other groups were also held Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Edinburgh on the same day.