Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) his Chinese counterpart and (b) members of the Hong Kong Government on the charging of nine activists over the 2014 Umbrella Revolution protests.

​Legal issues in Hong Kong are a matter for the relevant authorities in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. We have therefore not raised the issue with the Chinese Government. We are aware of concerns about the timing of the charging of nine activists involved in the 2014 protests. The British Consulate General in Hong Kong has raised the issue with the Department for Justice. Hong Kong's success and stability depend on its high degree of autonomy, independent judiciary and respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.