US, UK, Canada and Australia criticise new Hong Kong security law

The US, UK, Canada and Australia have criticised a new national security law in Hong Kong, saying it would undermine the former British colony’s status as a “bastion of freedom”.

In a statement from the foreign ministers of the four countries, they said they were concerned the action would increase divisions in Hong Kong that exist over the role of China.

The new legislation, approved by parliament in Beijing, bans “acts or activities” that put China’s national security at risk.

China says the law is necessary because there are national security concerns in Hong Kong that need to be addressed.

The statement added that the move “lies in direct conflict” with the “legally binding” 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. The agreement places Hong Kong under the authority of China but says the former UK colony would enjoy a “high degree of autonomy” for the next 50 years.

Hong Kong had been beset by protests since 2019 over an extradition bill with China that was eventually withdrawn.

“We are also extremely concerned that this action will exacerbate the existing deep divisions in Hong Kong society,” said the four countries.

“Rebuilding trust across Hong Kong society by allowing the people of Hong Kong to enjoy the rights and freedoms they were promised can be the only way back from the tensions and unrest that the territory has seen over the last year.”

MORE FROM ED HUSAIN: The UAE-Israel accord is a win for every Muslim

THE CARD

2pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

2.30pm: Handicap Dh 76,000 (D) 1,400m

3pm: Handicap Dh 64,000 (D) 1,200m

3.30pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh 100,000 (D) 1,000m

4pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (D) 1,000m

4.30pm: Handicap 64,000 (D) 1,950m

UAE currency

Red flags

Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

While you're here

Gavin Esler: Britain seems to be moving ever closer to the brink

Hussein Ibish: George Floyd tragedy a turning point for the US

Shelina Janmohamed: Teach the history of the British Empire

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

Profile Idealz

Company: Idealz

Founded: January 2018

Based: Dubai

Sector: E-commerce

Size: (employees): 22

Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)

The biog

Favourite car: Ferrari

Likes the colour: Black

Best movie: Avatar

Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.