Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the imprisonment of three protestors involved in the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement of 2014.

During my visit to Hong Kong on 23/24 August, I discussed this case with the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Carrie Lam. During my meeting, I stressed the UK's commitment to the Sino-British Joint Declaration and 'One Country, Two Systems'. I also made clear that it is essential that Hong Kong enjoys, and is seen to enjoy, the full measure of its high degree of autonomy and commitment to the rule of law enshrined in the Joint Declaration and Basic Law. On 17 August an FCO spokesperson issued a statement on the case, which said that "the UK remains a staunch supporter of the right to peaceful protest and we believe it is vital that Hong Kong's young people have a voice in politics. Hong Kong's way of life is underpinned by its rule of law. We note the decision reached by the Court of Appeal on the case of Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow and we hope the decision on this case will not discourage legitimate protest in the future."