The “golden era” of Sino-British relations has formally ended with the Chinese sanctioning of U.K. individuals and entities, London-based advocacy group Hong Kong Watch has said.

Beijing sanctioned nine individuals and four entities on Friday, including Hong Kong Watch patrons Lord David Alton of Liverpool and Sir Geoffrey Nice QC.

A regime that sanctions British parliamentarians, barristers, academics and activists for voicing out concern over human rights abuse “cannot seriously be considered a partner to the U.K. or a supporter of the international rules-based order,” a statement by the group said.

The Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission was among those sanctioned. The time has come to ask why none of the officials and entities responsible for the crackdown in Hong Kong have been sanctioned by the U.K., Hong Kong Watch said.

The U.K. should be considering all steps to hold Beijing to account, it said. London must immediately review its strategic dependency on China, consider counter sanctions, and review the role of British financial firms and pension funds in China’s companies engaged in human rights abuses, it added.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that if Beijing wants to credibly rebut claims of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, it should allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights full access in the region to verify the truth.

“It speaks volumes that, while the U.K. joins the international community in sanctioning those responsible for human rights abuses, the Chinese government sanctions its critics,” he said in a statement issued on Friday.

Iain Duncan Smith, a member of parliament and former leader of the Conservatives Party, was also among those sanctioned.

“It’s our duty to call out the Chinese Govt’s human rights abuse in #HongKong & the genocide of the #Uyghurs. Those of us who live free lives under the rule of law must speak for those who have no voice,” he tweeted in response.

“If that brings the anger of China down on me, I’ll wear that badge of honor.”

Smith has been vocal on Hong Kong and Xinjiang issues, as he urged the House of Commons to support a “genocide amendment” to the Trade Bill that would allow the courts to determine whether behavior amounts to genocide and enable Britain to take action.

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