TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Wednesday (June 3) urged the Chinese government to "reconsider" imposing a national security law on Hong Kong and said the U.K. is prepared to sacrifice its free trade deal with Beijing if the legislation goes through.

Following British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's statement about his consideration of an asylum offer to millions of Hong Kong citizens, Raab said in an interview with Sky News that the U.K. holds a "historic responsibility" to protect people from the special administrative region. He emphasized that the British government would not "turn its back" on the Hong Kong citizens.

Raab pointed out that Beijing's introduction of the freedom-curtailing measures was in breach of the "one country, two systems" proposal in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. He said the move would significantly hurt Beijing's global reputation and decreases countries' desire to sign deals with it.

Raab stressed that the U.K. is ready to abandon its free trade deal with China if the latter insists on carrying out the Hong Kong security law. He added that both governments will continue to have conversations to reach a mutual consensus.

In response to Raab's comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) during a Wednesday press briefing admonished the U.K. to stop meddling with China's domestic affairs. He exclaimed that the European nation should accept that Hong Kong has returned to China, warning that any continual pursuit of Hong Kong's autonomy will "backfire," reported Now News.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. (AP news photo)