<p>The United Kingdom said on Wednesday that China's imposition of a security law on Hong Kong was a "clear and serious" violation of the Joint Declaration.</p>.<p>"We have very carefully now assessed the contents of this national security legislation since it was published last night," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Reuters.</p>.<p>"It constitutes a clear violation of the autonomy of Hong Kong, and a direct threat to the freedoms of its people, and therefore I'm afraid to say it is a clear and serious violation of the Joint Declaration treaty between the United Kingdom and China."</p>.<p>Hong Kong's autonomy was guaranteed under the "one country, two systems" agreement enshrined in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration signed by then Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.</p>
<p>The United Kingdom said on Wednesday that China's imposition of a security law on Hong Kong was a "clear and serious" violation of the Joint Declaration.</p>.<p>"We have very carefully now assessed the contents of this national security legislation since it was published last night," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Reuters.</p>.<p>"It constitutes a clear violation of the autonomy of Hong Kong, and a direct threat to the freedoms of its people, and therefore I'm afraid to say it is a clear and serious violation of the Joint Declaration treaty between the United Kingdom and China."</p>.<p>Hong Kong's autonomy was guaranteed under the "one country, two systems" agreement enshrined in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration signed by then Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.</p>