Hong Kong National Security Legislation

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 1st July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his generous remarks. He is absolutely right to point to the importance of shoring up the values that we hold dear—the values reflected in the United Nations and the multilateral system. It is right to say that at threat are not just individual obligations in relation to the people of Hong Kong; there is a wider question of China trying to recraft the rules of the international system. It will take concerted effort with our international allies, in Europe and North America but much more broadly than that—that is why the G7 statement in support on Hong Kong was so important—to make sure that we can shore up the multilateral system and the international rule of law.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement. I fully understand and appreciate his deep concerns. He is well aware of China’s systematic suppression of religious beliefs and human rights among communities such as the Christians, the Uyghur Muslims and Falun Gong. Indeed, just this week, China initiated the sterilisation of Uyghur mothers to prevent them from having children. Does he share my concern that the legislation will allow those abuses to take place in Hong Kong? How can we prevent that from happening?

[Dominic Raab]

I share entirely the hon. Gentleman’s outrage, frankly, at the reports that we have seen about what is happening in Xinjiang and, indeed, Hong Kong. The reality, given China’s economic size and, indeed, its military size, is that we have to focus, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) mentioned, on swelling the international caucus of like-minded countries who understand what is at stake here. It is not just the issue of Hong Kong, as important as that is, but the rules-based international system and the values represented within it.