Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (HL1761):
Question by Lord Alton of Liverpool :
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Hong Kong regarding the jailing of (1) Alexandra Wong, and (2) Koo Sze-yiu, for participating in pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019; and what assessment they have made of the (a) rule of law, and (b) freedom of speech, in that territory. (HL1761)
Tabled on: 14 July 2022
Answer:
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon:
The UK is deeply concerned about the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, and the authorities’ decision to target pro-democracy figures for prosecution. The right to peaceful protest is one of the rights China promised to protect, as guaranteed in both the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law. However, the Chinese Government has failed to uphold freedom of speech and assembly, including through Chinese and Hong Kong authorities’ continuing use of the National Security Law to target dissenting voices.
The UK is clear that freedom of speech, an independent judiciary and the rule of law are protected in the Joint Declaration and should be upheld. We continue to raise our concerns directly with the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities and call on China to uphold the promises it willingly agreed to.
Date and time of answer: 28 Jul 2022 at 16:42.
