Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has discussed the extension of universal franchise in Hong Kong with the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

I have not spoken to Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, since she took office on 1 July. However our Consul General to Hong Kong and Macao, Mr Andrew Heyn OBE, met Carrie Lam on 19 April following her election victory of 26 March.

The Foreign Secretary issued a Written Ministerial Statement to the House on 29 June to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statements/) (29 June 2017, Official Report, House of Commons, column HCWS19) which outlined our assessment of the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle, as well as referencing specific concerns over its implementation. The UK continues to believe that it is in Hong Kong's best interests that discussion resumes between all parties in order to make further progress towards a more democratic and accountable system of government, as provided for in the Basic Law.