Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of recent incursions by the Coastguard of the People's Republic of China into the restricted waters of the Kinmen islands.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's longstanding position on Taiwan has not changed. The UK has a clear interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion. We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo, including increased Chinese assertiveness towards Taiwan.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the statement by the Chinese Embassy to the UK entitled Embassy Spokesperson on a Taiwan-related motion concocted by a handful of British MPs, published on 29 November 2024, what the Government's policy is on whether Taiwan is a province of China.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's longstanding position on Taiwan, as set out in the 1972 Communiqué, has not changed and remains the position of this government.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect the Falun Gong community in China.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The environment for freedom of religion or belief across China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
This Government will champion freedom of religion or belief for all abroad. We will work to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief through our position at the UN, G7 and other multilateral fora, and through bilateral engagement. For example, the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary both raised human rights recently with their counterparts, President Xi and Foreign Minister Wang, respectively.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will have discussions with international counterparts on the use of force against pro-democracy protesters in Georgia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In his 9 December statement the Foreign Secretary strongly condemned the excessive use of force against protesters and journalists in Georgia. He also outlined the suspension of programme support to the Georgian government as a result of the crackdown. In my 3 December statement, I made clear our support for the Georgian people's European future, and I condemned the excessive force used against protesters and journalists. Protesters in Georgia are making clear their opposition to Georgian Dream's decision to stall the country's progress towards EU membership, directly undermining the Georgian Constitution. We are in regular contact with international partners regarding the situation. I continue to call on the Georgian authorities to listen, de-escalate, and reverse this harmful trajectory away from European values.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to support a female appointment as General Secretary of the United Nations.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports a merit-based appointment for UN Secretary-General, based on principles of transparency and inclusiveness. The Government would like to see women's representation strengthen across the multilateral system, and we welcome the Secretary-General's ambition for gender parity. We encourage member states to nominate women for the top jobs. The UK is proud to continue to support the objectives of the UN's Senior Women Talent Pipeline (SWTP), including programme funding totalling £50,000 in the current financial year.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Opinion No. 34/2024 on Jimmy Lai published on 26 September 2024.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO takes the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention's Opinion very seriously. The UK Government has consistently called for Jimmy Lai's release and raised concerns about his case directly with the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities.
The Prime Minister raised Jimmy Lai with President Xi at last week's G20 Summit in Brazil and the Foreign Secretary raised his case with Wang Yi during his visit to Beijing on 18 October.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department's China audit will engage with Hong Kong BNO status holders that live in the UK.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Work on the audit is underway and will involve consultation with a range of experts within and beyond government.
The audit will examine the UK's interests with respect to China. This will improve our ability - both inside and outside of Government - to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities China poses. The audit is due to report in early 2025.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of Russian-backed media transmitting on the radio frequency previously occupied by the BBC World Service's Arabic station in Lebanon on British influence in the region.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The BBC is editorially and operationally independent and makes its own decisions about where to broadcast, audiences to reach and content. The BBC Arabic language service continues to operate and reaches a weekly average audience of 35 million people across the Middle East and North Africa and more widely.
Russia's disinformation tactics are well-documented. It is using disinformation and other malign tactics to advance its influence, sow discord and undermine global rules and norms worldwide.
HMG works with diverse media outlets that represent different perspectives across MENA aiming to mitigate Russia's influence. This also includes working with digital and traditional media platforms as well as radio, ensuring all media are covered.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will issue guidance to (a) HSBC and (b) Standard Chartered on ensuring that British National (Overseas) passports are valid documents for Hong Kongers to use to secure early withdrawals of their Mandatory Provident Fund savings after permanently leaving Hong Kong.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of the concerning reports that individuals who have chosen to take up the BN(O) visa route are having difficulties in the early drawing down of their Hong Kong MPF savings. We deeply value the UK's growing Hong Kong community and will address their concerns where we can. Whilst documentary requirements for withdrawing funds are a matter for the Hong Kong authorities, officials continue to raise this issue directly with the Hong Kong Government to encourage a pragmatic solution, and UK officials and Ministers continue to discuss the matter with the banks.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Qatari counterpart to help secure the release of the 101 Israeli hostages being held in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Since day one, we have been working alongside our allies and partners in the region, including Qatar, in support of ongoing negotiations. The UK welcomes the tireless efforts of our partners in Qatar, Egypt and the United States. We need the hostages returned immediately and unconditionally. We must see greater protection of civilians, a rapid increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza, and to enable the UN and humanitarian agencies to be able to operate safely in Gaza. During his most recent visit to the region on 9 October, the Foreign Secretary reiterated the need for an immediate ceasefire to ensure their safe release.