Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with (a) his Chinese counterpart and (b) the Hong Kong Government on the election of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong by universal suffrage.

I discussed the importance of political reform in Hong Kong with Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister, Liu Haixing on 16 February in Beijing; and in my meeting with Wang Yongqing, Secretary-General of the Central Commission for Politics and Law in London on 17 February.

When I visited Hong Kong from 1-3 December 2016, I discussed the political situation with legislators from a variety of mainstream parties and the then Chief Secretary Carrie Lam (now the Chief Executive-elect). I encouraged all parties to play their part in rebuilding constructive dialogue to pave the way for the resumption of the political reform process.