Tuesday, 28 July 2020

New Zealand fighting China by suspending extradition treaty with Hong Kong on Tuesday.

              On Tuesday, New Zealand has suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong. This has happened as a way of showing dissatisfaction on the imposition of the new security law by China on the semi-autonomous region. New Zealand has joined its allies in sanctioning China over the move.

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the suspension was because "New Zealand can no longer trust that Hong Kong's criminal justice system is sufficiently independent from China". The country took this step without the fear to angering The Dragon "China" who is Wellington's largest trading partner.

Peters also stated that the country was also tightening its restriction on military and dual-use exports to Hong Kong, as well as upgrading travel warnings to Kiwi citizens in the territory.

"China's passage of its new national security legislation has eroded rule-of-law principles, undermined the 'one country, two systems' framework that underpins Hong Kong’s unique status, and gone against commitments China made to the international community," Peters said.

Canada, Britain and Australia, who are New Zealand's partners in the so-called "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance have taken similar action. The United States has given a hint of doing the same in the coming weeks. 

According to statement by a spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in Wellington, "The New Zealand government's decision is a serious violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations. It is a gross interference in China's internal affairs. The Chinese side has lodged its grave concern and strong opposition," the embassy said in a statement.

The Chinese Communist Party government is quiet quick to respond with threats of punishing countries who goes against any unjust action they are pursuing, this has reaction has recently been termed as wolf-warrior diplomacy which might cause CCP party to be isolated worldwide if they don't change on this approach.

Critics view this new security law as an erosion of civil liberties and human rights in the financial hub, which has been semi-autonomous from China since its handover from Britain in 1997.

Kiwis' updated travel advice said the security law had led to an increased risk of arrest for activities such as protests, with the possibility of being removed to mainland China to face maximum penalties of life imprisonment.

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