Hong Kong Anniversaries

Brendan O'Hara Excerpts
Wednesday 29th June 2022

(1 year, 9 months ago)

Westminster Hall
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Brendan O'Hara Portrait Brendan O'Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)
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It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Efford. I too begin by thanking the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) for securing the debate. I thank the hon. Members for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Margaret Ferrier), and for Strangford (Jim Shannon), for their contributions, too. I will also put on the record my sincere thanks to Hong Kong Watch and the International Federation of Journalists for what they have done and continue to do in defending human rights and the freedom of the press in Hong Kong.

Although not hugely over-subscribed, today’s debate has been very well informed. It has united Members from all sides of the House in support of the people of Hong Kong, their democratic institutions and the fundamental human rights they have enjoyed for many years, including freedom of speech, a free press, the right to free assembly, the right to strike, freedom to travel, freedom of association and, of course, freedom of religion or belief.

As we have heard from hon. and right hon. Members, those fundamental rights—personal and political freedoms that were guaranteed to the people of Hong Kong—are being systematically undermined and dismantled by the Chinese state. The right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green was right to bring up the 1984 Sino-British declaration, in which the people of Hong Kong were promised that they would enjoy a high degree of autonomy for 50 years following the handover, and that during that period only foreign affairs and defence would be the responsibility of the Government in Beijing. Indeed, the declaration went much further. It legally enshrined the doctrine of the one country, two systems approach, which guaranteed that the social and economic environment and the lifestyle of Hongkongers would remain intact and unchanged for half a century beyond 1997.

This year—almost to the day—marks the halfway point of those 50 years, but already those legally guaranteed freedoms and basic human rights that Hongkongers were assured would remain are becoming a distant memory. Sadly, Lord Patton’s famously optimistic line that “Now, Hong Kong people are to run Hong Kong” could not be further from the truth.

It will come as no surprise to anyone that the SNP will always support democratic demands for self-determination, not just for ourselves but for people around the world. We believe that the people of Hong Kong must be free to democratically choose their own Government, and that Government must act in the interest of the Hong Kong people. While we recognise that the 1997 handover was an important step in global decolonisation, we deeply regret that—contrary to what it promised to the people of Hong Kong, and in the face of a legally binding international agreement—the Chinese Communist party is reneging on its end of the deal. As we have heard from all speakers, over the past 25 years, we have seen the steady erosion of the personal and political freedoms that Hongkongers were guaranteed, and the hasty assimilation and integration of Hong Kong into the Chinese mainstream by the Government in Beijing.

While in recent years we have witnessed the clamping down on any form of pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, things have deteriorated significantly in the past two years since the introduction of the national security law, which is little more than a full-on attack on the rights and freedoms of Hongkongers. It completely dismantles the one country, two systems framework and deliberately creates doubt and ambiguity in the minds of the people of Hong Kong as to whether what they are doing and have always done could be considered a crime. As the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West said, the Chinese Government have done that by introducing deliberately vague and undefined changes into the Hong Kong legal system, which would see advocating for secession, being involved in what they define as terrorism, subverting state power or colluding with a foreign political force punishable by between 10 years to life in prison.

Of course, the big problem with that is that the only people who know what the law means are those who make it, and no one is really clear what actually constitutes an offence that would “endanger national security”. The hon. Member for Strangford was right to say that Hongkongers live in a world in which they have no way of knowing if the things they may have done routinely in the past, the ideas that they may have expressed, the words that they may have written down, and the meetings that they would normally attend now constitute a criminal offence that leaves them at risk of prosecution, deportation or imprisonment on the Chinese mainland. That is exactly what the national security law was designed to do. That is why Amnesty International described it as,

“another example of a government using the concept of ‘national security’ to repress political opposition, with significant risks for human rights defenders, critical media reporting and civil society at large.”

Sadly, it has had the desired effect, with dozens of civil society organisations and trade unions now disbanding, including the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions, the Civil Human Rights Front and the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union. At the end of last year, fearing reprisals, Amnesty International also closed its office in Hong Kong.

China’s placemen in Hong Kong now have this draconian legislation to create a climate of fear among the population, which they can use against anyone who dares publicly challenge the official narrative. As if to prove that the national security law was not a scare tactic to silence China’s critics, as the hon. Member for Strangford reminded us, in January 2021 almost 50 pro-democracy activists were arrested and charged with sedition, purely for attending and organising a primary election to run candidates for Hong Kong’s Legislative Council.

Later that year, the police raided the office of the pro-democracy Apple Daily, as the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green said, and arrested its editors for violating the national security law. They froze its bank accounts and, shortly afterwards, the paper closed down its website and social media before announcing its complete closure. Of course, the regime was always going to move against the independent press—that is what authoritarian Governments have always done—but the speed at which it moved against what was once a beacon of press freedom in Asia has been remarkable.

Since the national security law came into effect, 20 journalists and freedom campaigners have been arrested, and a dozen media workers and journalists are currently facing charges or awaiting trial, while others have fled Hong Kong and are now in exile. The Hong Kong police have even introduced a new definition of what it is to be a journalist—effectively imposing restrictions on freelance reporters, online journalists, student journalists and citizen journalists.

That climate of fear has also spread to the creative industries, with authors, publishers, filmmakers and artists all now self-censoring, for fear of crossing those invisible lines that would constitute a breach of the national security law. In short, the national security law has not only accelerated the dismantling of the free press in Hong Kong, but curtailed artistic freedom and put a straitjacket on civil society, while the personal liberty and fundamental political rights of the people of Hong Kong diminish by the day. It is a grim situation, and sadly there is no prospect of it getting better any time soon.

The SNP believes that the UK has a unique responsibility to help and protect the people of Hong Kong. We welcome the 90,000 applications to access the BNO route since its introduction, but there must be more that we can do to assist the 1.3 million Hongkongers who are not covered by that scheme. What conversations is the Minister having with the Home Office about finding a solution that would help those people, particularly—as my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West said—those young people who have bravely stood up against the regime? What can we do to help them?

Last month, Hong Kong Watch published a report showing that nine Hong Kong officials and around a dozen members of Hong Kong’s “patriots only” legislature and their families have property overseas, including here in the UK. Will the Government commit to undertaking and publishing the results of a full audit of the UK assets held by Hong Kong and Chinese officials who are linked to human rights abuses?

At exactly the same time as the national security law was being introduced, the UK Government announced new Magnitsky-style sanctions to target those who have been involved in the gravest human rights violations and abuses. I add my voice to those here today who are equally bewildered—why has no human rights-violating Hong Kong political official been put on those Magnitsky-sanctions by the UK Government?

--- Later in debate ---
Amanda Milling Portrait Amanda Milling
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I reassure the House that we keep all the evidence under review for possible future designations. I am not going to speculate, but right hon. and hon. Members should be reassured that we keep everything under very close review.

Brendan O'Hara Portrait Brendan O’Hara
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What evidence would the Government require, that they do not currently have, that human rights are being abused and fundamental rights undermined in Hong Kong?

Amanda Milling Portrait Amanda Milling
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As I said, the sanctions regime enables us to sanction individuals responsible for human rights violations. I am not going to speculate, but I reassure the House that we take this matter seriously and keep it under very close review.

The hon. Member for Blackley and Broughton (Graham Stringer) is no longer in his place, but he made a point about businesses. The Government monitor the operation and function of the financial sector and its participants on an ongoing basis, across a wide range of matters, but it is for the businesses themselves to make their own judgment calls. We do not comment on individual companies.

China’s increasing international assertiveness and the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific will be among the most significant geopolitical and geoeconomic shifts of the 2020s. It is precisely because we recognise China’s influence in the world that we expect China to live up to its international obligations and responsibilities.

As we reach the 25-year anniversary of the handover, our long-standing ties to Hong Kong and its people are just as strong as they were in 1997. We share history. We have enduring cultural, economic and social links. We want Hong Kong to succeed and thrive. This Government believe that the most effective path to long-term prosperity for Hong Kong is through respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law and genuine political participation by the full breadth of Hong Kong’s society. We must protect what remains of Hong Kong’s unique social, political and economic systems. That is why we will continue to bring our international partners together to stand up for the people of Hong Kong, to call out the violation of their rights and freedoms, and to hold China to its international obligations.