Hong Kong Anniversaries

Margaret Ferrier Excerpts

Wednesday 29th June 2022 Westminster Hall

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I congratulate the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) on securing this incredibly important debate on an issue that I know he feels very strongly about—he has shown dedication in raising it in this House—and I congratulate him on a superb speech.

This Friday will mark 25 years since Hong Kong’s sovereignty was transferred to the People’s Republic of China. The world is quite a different place from how it was in 1997, and in many ways that is a positive thing. Unfortunately, in Hong Kong, there is a concerted effort from the PRC to force the region to regress.

June is another, more recent anniversary in Hong Kong: it is two years since the introduction of the highly undemocratic national security law. That law, intended to clamp down on pro-democracy activism, has no place in the modern world. It is intentionally vague and open to misinterpretation. Its desired effect is to ensure that activists, dissenters and critics of the Chinese state are too afraid to continue fighting the good fight and to speak up for Hongkongers’ human rights. It is a façade intended to create the illusion of legitimacy and law and order, but in reality it is a mechanism for exerting the control of the totalitarian PRC.

The PRC has extended its reach so far that the law even says that it applies to anyone and everyone, no matter where in the world they live, and regardless of whether they are even a Hong Kong citizen. I understand that the Hong Kong authorities have attempted to apply the law outwith the borders of their authority, in order to try to arrest activists living abroad. The law’s official punishments would be excessive, even if it had been legislated in good faith. The reports of citizens being subjected to torture and maiming under the new laws are frightening. Living under that constant threat must be overwhelming and exhausting.

The “patriot only” election system, implemented and controlled by Beijing, is an affront to democracy and the joint declaration, which, as a key negotiator and signatory, Britain has a moral duty to ensure is upheld. Hong Kong’s new Chief Executive, John Lee, elected through a process that can barely be described as an election, has set out a worrying legislative agenda—an agenda that will see Hong Kong slip further and further away from the pursuit of democracy.

In fairness to the UK Government, they have responded in several ways to the breaches of the declaration. The one on which I will focus is the British national overseas—BNO—visa. Along with many others, I wholeheartedly welcome the visa. It is absolutely right that we offer sanctuary to Hongkongers fleeing human rights abuses and oppression.

That said, there is always room for improvement. A huge number of the people who have protested against the system are young—18 to 23-year-olds—and are at great risk of political persecution. The Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, the hon. Member for Torbay (Kevin Foster), who is responsible for immigration, announced a few months ago forthcoming further changes to the scheme, allowing those born after July 1997 and with a BNO parent to apply. I hope that the change will allow some of that cohort to take up the scheme. However, I worry that those young people will still need to meet the other, financial requirements of the visa. That will be a significant hurdle for them because of their age and the persecution that they face at home. I also worry about those young people who are without a BNO parent and so are ineligible for the scheme despite sharing those circumstances. Although I of course appreciate the lower fee for the visa, the immigration health surcharge is no small sum—in fact, it is huge. It is a significant obstacle for low-income citizens who may desperately need to leave Hong Kong.

I have in the past been critical of the Government’s approach to asylum policy, but I urge them to look closer at this matter. The BNO scheme is, when we look at intent, about asylum from persecution, but it is dependent on relative affluence, and it leaves a large group of vulnerable citizens without a route to safety in the UK. I reiterate that as a signatory to the joint declaration, we have a responsibility here.

For those who do get to the UK under the BNO scheme, further flexibility is needed around access to further education and adult training. There will still be challenges to overcome for those people, but they can access those training opportunities only once they have been in the UK for three years. Allowing them to access that support earlier would allow them to integrate into British society faster and flourish a little easier.

The bigger picture in all this is China’s growing assertiveness and lack of respect for international treaties and territorial sovereignty. We see that in the growing tensions with Taiwan, too. That country has also openly offered refuge for Hongkongers. That move has not been an easy one to choreograph; in fact, Hongkongers who have relocated to Taiwan have been asked to keep a low profile. There are the dual priorities of offering a home to pro-democracy activists and not antagonising Beijing.

Given the consequences they face, so many Hongkongers have shown an immense amount of courage in their campaign for respect and freedom. I hope that we will see some autonomy and democracy in Hong Kong not too far in the future. I hope that the Minister can shed light on the Government’s plans to support that. Perhaps that plan will involve consequences for China, in the form of meaningful sanctions, to show Beijing that we stand with Hong Kong and support its right to a democratic future.