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.

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.

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.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will issue guidance to (a) HSBC and (b) Standard Chartered on the validity of British National (Overseas) passports for Hong Kongers to use to secure early withdrawals of their Mandatory Provident Fund savings after permanently leaving Hong Kong.

Answered by Tulip Siddiq

This government is deeply committed to supporting members of the Hong Kong community who have relocated to the UK. We are aware that individuals who have chosen to take up the British National (Overseas) route are having difficulties accessing their Mandatory Provident Fund from Hong Kong.

Whilst documentary requirements for withdrawing funds are a matter for the Hong Kong authorities, officials have raised this issue directly with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Hong Kong MPF Schemes Authority. We have urged them to facilitate early draw down of funds as is the case for other Hong Kong residents who move overseas permanently and have made clear such discrimination of BN(O)s is unacceptable.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will remove Asma Assad's UK citizenship.

Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)

We do not comment on individual cases.

But in the wider issue raised, the Home Office acted swiftly to temporarily pause decisions on Syrian asylum claims whilst we assess the current situation.

We keep all country guidance relating to asylum claims under constant review so we can respond to emerging issues.

While all asylum claims are routinely considered on their individual merits, it is standard procedure to deny protection to anyone who has committed crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity, other serious crimes abroad or acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to review the salary threshold for the visa sponsorship programme.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Secretary confirmed on 30 July that the Government will be retaining the increase to the general salary threshold for the Skilled Worker visa route brought in by the previous government. The general salary thresholds are updated on an annual basis to keep track with the latest available salary data and pay scales to account for overall wage increases.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on the role of that country’s Islamic Council in the persecution of Uyghur Muslims.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK remains deeply concerned by the discrimination faced by marginalised religious communities around the world. In Pakistan, we work to promote the rights of religious minorities through diplomatic engagement and programme funding. I raised the issue of religious tolerance when I met with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister when I visited this year. The UK also stands firm on human rights in China, including in Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities. We raise our concerns with China at the highest levels - the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary both raised human rights recently with their Chinese counterparts.

Lavender Drive Christmas lights

Possible sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili

Import and sale of real fur

No description available

This inquiry will explore the extent and effectiveness of the UK’s soft power in what is an increasingly challenging global environment. The inquiry will consider the UK’s unique soft power strengths and ask how the UK might best measure and actualise the benefits it accrues from its soft power. This inquiry will also scrutinise the work of the Government’s new Soft Power Council and any subsequent strategy to strengthen UK soft power.

Submit Evidence (by 24 Feb 2025)

Misinformation and disinformation campaigns are increasingly weaponised by hostile state and non-state actors and this inquiry will seek to understand which actors are primarily responsible, and which channels and technologies are being used. It will seek to map motivations, sources and locations of the most pressing disinformation threats to democracy, and to understand the impact of artificial intelligence. The inquiry will examine how the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) can work with allies and multilateral organisations to combat the spread of disinformation that seeks to undermine democratic values and institutions. The inquiry will also ask how the Government can coordinate its counter-disinformation work across departments and best work with private organisations. This inquiry will take a regional approach by examining disinformation campaigns within Europe, the Americas, Indo-Pacific and Africa, to understand how the UK can better counter disinformation from malign actors.