U.K. halts Hong Kong extradition

Britain on Monday joined a handful of other countries that said they would stop returning criminal suspects to Hong Kong for trial. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said his government blocked arms sales to the territory, as well, over a new Chinese national security law that strips Hong Kong of its autonomy. The United States, Australia, and Canada have also suspended extradition deals with the territory in response to Beijing’s crackdown.

How did China respond? Ahead of the announcement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry warned the British government “to take no more steps down the wrong path.” Relations between the two countries deteriorated after the United Kingdom last week stripped Chinese telecom company Huawei of any role in its 5G network. Raab also expressed concern about human rights abuses against Uighur minorities in China’s Xinjiang region.

Dig deeper: Read June Cheng’s report on how Hong Kong residents are responding to their rapidly diminishing freedoms.