Hong Kong: Official Visits

(asked on 14th April 2023) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies on the charging of Jimmy Lai under the National Security Law in Hong Kong of the potential visit in April 2023 of Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Hong Kong Government.


Answered by
Anne-Marie Trevelyan Portrait
Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 19th April 2023

We have been clear that the deliberate targeting of journalists and businessmen such as Mr Lai under the National Security Law (NSL) is unacceptable. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific met with Mr Lai's international Legal team on 10 January and diplomats at the Consulate-General in Hong Kong will continue to attend Mr Lai's court proceedings. We have taken a number of measures in response to the situation in Hong Kong, including the bespoke immigration route for BN(O)s, the suspension of the UK-Hong Kong extradition treaty and the extension of the arms embargo applied to China to Hong Kong. We will continue to use our channels with the Hong Kong and Chinese Governments to raise our strong objection to the NSL and the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong.

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