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New Delhi, Delhi, India
New Zealand has suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong on Tuesday. This move comes in protest against the new security law imposed by China on the semi-autonomous region. New Zealand has joined its allies in sanctioning China over the move.
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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 despite risking the ire of Wellington's largest trading partner.
According to Peters, 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 Kongâs 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.
The Chinese embassy in Wellington has made no immediate response to the suspension, however, it warned earlier this month that attempts to pressure Beijing on the security law would amount to "gross interference in China's internal affairs".
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.
(Inputs from AFP)