Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to hold discussions with his Chinese counterpart on the (a) arrest of (i) Jimmy Lai and (ii) other democracy activists in Hong Kong and (b) targeting of activists in the UK during his visit to that country.

The Foreign Secretary raised Jimmy Lai's case in his first meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the ASEAN Summit on 26 July and his case remains a priority for this Government. We will continue to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecutions of all democracy activists, including Jimmy Lai. I met with Sebastien Lai and Jimmy Lai's international legal team on Tuesday 8 October.

Attempts by foreign Governments to coerce, intimidate or harm critics overseas, are unacceptable. Freedom of speech and other fundamental rights of all people in the UK are protected under domestic law, regardless of nationality.