Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps, if any, they have taken to ensure Jimmy Lai receives proper diabetes treatment while being held in Stanley Prison in Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain concerned about the targeting of pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong, and are following these cases carefully. For data protection reasons I cannot share information about an individual without their permission.
Accredited diplomats at our Consulate-General In Hong Kong will continue to attend Mr Lai's court proceedings.
We continue to make clear to mainland Chinese and Hong Kong authorities our strong opposition to the National Security Law, which is being used to curtail freedoms, punish dissent and shrink the space for opposition, free press and civil society.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assistance, if any, the British Consulate in Hong Kong has provided Jimmy Lai to maintain his health while he is imprisoned.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain concerned about the targeting of pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong, and are following these cases carefully. For data protection reasons I cannot share information about an individual without their permission.
Accredited diplomats at our Consulate-General In Hong Kong will continue to attend Mr Lai's court proceedings.
We continue to make clear to mainland Chinese and Hong Kong authorities our strong opposition to the National Security Law, which is being used to curtail freedoms, punish dissent and shrink the space for opposition, free press and civil society.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Jimmy Lai’s access to health care services in Stanley Prison in Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain concerned about the targeting of pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong, and are following these cases carefully. For data protection reasons I cannot share information about an individual without their permission.
Accredited diplomats at our Consulate-General In Hong Kong will continue to attend Mr Lai's court proceedings.
We continue to make clear to mainland Chinese and Hong Kong authorities our strong opposition to the National Security Law, which is being used to curtail freedoms, punish dissent and shrink the space for opposition, free press and civil society.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken since the 'COVID-19 action plan: G7 Foreign Ministers’ statement' was released in May 2022.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The UK has committed £2.1 billion since 2020 to help countries fight COVID and manage its impacts and we have donated over 85 million vaccine doses, which helped protect medical staff and vulnerable people, when there was a shortage of vaccines. As global vaccine supply now outstrips demand, the UK is supporting low-income countries to vaccinate their high-risk populations through the COVID-19 Vaccine Delivery Partnership.
Therapeutics and diagnostics are a fundamental part of pandemic response, both for COVID-19 and future health threats. That is why the UK co-chaired, with South Africa, the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator Working Group on Therapeutics and Diagnostics and in September, published its report setting out recommendations.
The UK is committed to acting on lessons from COVID-19 to ensure we are better prepared for the next health threat. The UK welcomes the new Financial Intermediary Fund for Pandemic Preparedness and is closely engaging on the development of a Pandemic Instrument to help strengthen international collaboration against future health threats.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of China about the reported abduction of Meihong Wang by police in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province on 23 November.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of the reported abduction of Meihong Wang in Harbin, China. We remain deeply concerned about the persecution of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others on the grounds of their religion or belief in China. The freedom to practise, change or share ones faith or belief without discrimination or violent opposition is a human right that all people should enjoy. We regularly raise our concerns about the human rights situation with the Chinese authorities, and will continue to do so.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the British Consulate in Hong Kong is monitoring and assessing (1) resignations from, (2) appointments to, and (3) moves of members within, the judiciary in Hong Kong; what assessment they have made, if any, of the desirability of members of the British judiciary being seconded to serve in the courts of the region to implement the provisions of the Hong Kong national security law; and what criteria they use to make any such assessment.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Hong Kong's independent judiciary is a cornerstone of its economic success and way of life. As the Foreign Secretary said to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 6 October, judicial appointments to the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal are made independently. The Foreign Secretary and the Lord Chancellor will continue their consultations with the Supreme Court, building on assessments from the Consulate-General in Hong Kong and others.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they intend to make to the World Health Organisation to consider the report of the World Organisation to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong which showed that over 7,000 doctors in China are involved in the systematic killing of prisoners through the enforced body harvesting trade in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We consult and share assessments with the World Health Organisation (WHO) on a range of issues, including on allegations of forced organ harvesting. We will continue to consult the WHO on its assessment of the organ transplant system in China.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the World Health Organisation to set out the full reasons why it believes that the government of China has an ethical voluntary organ transplant system in place.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We consult and share assessments with the World Health Organisation (WHO) on a range of issues, including on allegations of forced organ harvesting. We will continue to consult the WHO on its assessment of the organ transplant system in China.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they plan to make to the World Health Organisation to review its stance on the the government of China's organ transplant system following the China Tribunal's findings that that government's forced organ harvesting constitutes a crime against humanity.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are carefully reviewing the allegations in the recently released China Tribunal report. The Government's position remains that, if true, allegations of forced organ harvesting would constitute a gross violation of human rights. We take such allegations seriously and will continue to consult with the World Health Organization and international partners on this matter.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of China about the 1984 regulations in that country which state that organs can be extracted from executed prisoners.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I am not aware of any discussions between the UK and Chinese governments on this specific point.