Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Chinese government concerning the treatment of protestors in Hong Kong.

We have consistently called on all sides to ensure that the demonstrations are peaceful and in accordance with the law. This month, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and I met the Chinese Ambassador to discuss developments in Hong Kong and to set out the UK position on constitutional reform. On 14 October I met the Hong Kong Government’s Secretary of Justice to discuss the importance of the introduction of universal suffrage.

I issued a Written Ministerial Statement on the situation in Hong Kong on 13 October, calling on all sides to ensure that demonstrations remain peaceful. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has also issued statements on the situation on 2 October, 29 September and 4 September. As we have made clear, we hope that all parties engage constructively in dialogue.