Chinese Embassy Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Luke Taylor
Main Page: Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)Department Debates - View all Luke Taylor's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
(1 day, 13 hours ago)
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Luke Taylor (Sutton and Cheam) (LD)
I thank the hon. Member for Rutland and Stamford (Alicia Kearns) for submitting her application, and Mr Speaker for granting another urgent question on this issue. Although we are not yet happy with the answers, we have at least been given repeated chances to scrutinise the issue as it has progressed.
I am here on behalf of Hongkongers in Sutton and Cheam and across London who are aghast at the prospect of this project being given permission. We have seen the persecution and conviction of Jimmy Lai; transnational repression of Hongkongers in the UK through, among other things, the withholding of their mandatory provident fund savings that allow them to survive here; bounties placed on activists; and action taken against MPs, such as my hon. Friend the Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) being prevented from going into Hong Kong, and sanctions being placed on other MPs. If a hostile state is rewarded for all these actions with permission to expand and increase its capabilities for surveillance, espionage and repression in our capital city, what hope can any of us have that the Government will stand up against hostile states for Britain and Britons in an increasingly hostile and dangerous world?
Matthew Pennycook
I simply note that all the points the hon. Gentleman has made could apply to the existing seven diplomatic premises in the UK. When it comes to this site, as I have said, a decision will be made on or before 20 January, and all material considerations will be taken into account. We remain steadfast in our support for the Hong Kong community in the UK. As I said in answer to a previous question, we have undertaken a review of transnational repression as part of the defending democracy taskforce—it is something we take incredibly seriously.