LONDON, July 6 (Reuters) - Britain expects China to adhere
to international law, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris
Johnson said on Monday when asked what London could do if
Beijing prevents those in Hong Kong with British National
Overseas (BNO) status from leaving.
Britain has offered a path to citizenship for around 3
million people in Hong Kong, its former colony, after declaring
that China had broken the terms of a 1984 handover treaty by
imposing a new security law this week.
"We have already set out what we will be providing for BNOs
... We would expect China to understand the importance of
adhering to international law," the spokesman told reporters.
He also reiterated why Britain had taken the steps it had.
"... the enactment and imposition of the national security
law constitutes a clear and serious breach of the ... joint
declaration ... It violates Hong Kong's high degree of
autonomy."
(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison)