Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is bound by Article 22 of Hong Kong Basic Law which ensures that Chinese Government departments cannot interfere in the affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy is guaranteed under the Sino-British Joint Declaration to which the UK is a party. We expect the Chinese authorities to respect and preserve this high degree of autonomy.