Japan Regrets China's Approval of Hong Kong Security Bill - Government

TOKYO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th June, 2020) Japan has expressed its regret over China's approval of the new national security bill for Hong Kong and criticized the legislation as detrimental to the "one country, two systems" principle, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the National People's Congress Standing Committee, the top legislative authority in China, was reported to have voted unanimously in favor of the national security bill, sparking a firestorm of negative comments from the Hong Kong opposition as well as several Western officials, who claim the bill would undermine the city's autonomy guaranteed during its transition from the United Kingdom to China.

"The fact that it has been approved despite the concerns of the international community and the Hong Kong residents is regretful. The 'one country, two systems' principle is extremely important for our country, which maintains close economic and humanitarian ties with Hong Kong," Suga said at a press conference.

The adoption of the bill "damages the international community's principles and the principle of 'one country, two systems,'" Suga went on to say.

"That is why we will react accordingly [while remaining] in close cooperation with the interested countries," the official concluded.

The new legislation bans separatist, subversive and terrorist activities, along with any form of foreign interference in Hong Kong. It has provoked a wave of criticism in Hong Kong and abroad with US President Donald Trump threatening to reconsider the US ties with the city, including the preferential treatment it enjoys, as well as sanction both Chinese and Hong Kong officials for allegedly undermining the city's autonomy.