Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the arrest of (1) Hong Kong media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, (2) the vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Labour Party, Lee Cheuk-yan, and (3) the former chairman of the Hong Kong Democratic Party, Yeung Sum, by the Hong Kong Police; what representations they have made to the governments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the People’s Republic of China about those arrests; and what assessment they have made of the effect of those arrests on the “one country, two systems” principle, and the protection of freedoms guaranteed for the people of Hong Kong under the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.

We are concerned by the arrests of Jimmy Lai, Lee Cheuk-Yan and Yeung Sum and are following their cases closely. It is important that due process is followed, and that justice is applied in a fair and transparent way.

It is essential that protests are conducted peacefully, and that the authorities avoid actions that inflame tensions. The authorities should focus on rebuilding trust through a process of meaningful political dialogue.

The Foreign Secretary regularly raises Hong Kong with Chinese and Hong Kong officials at the highest levels. Senior officials are in frequent contact with their counterparts in Hong Kong, Beijing and London.

We remain fully committed to upholding Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and rights and freedoms underpinned by the legally binding Joint Declaration, and the 'One Country, Two Systems' framework set out in the Hong Kong Basic Law.