Written Question
Friday 6th January 2023
Asked by:
Lord Cormack (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that Jimmy Lai, a British citizen and devout Roman Catholic, is able to receive pastoral care whilst in prison.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We remain concerned about the targeting of pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong, and are following these cases carefully. For data protection reasons I cannot share information about an individual without their permission.
Accredited diplomats at our Consulate-General in Hong Kong will continue to attend Mr Lai's court proceedings.
We continue to make clear to mainland Chinese and Hong Kong authorities our strong opposition to the National Security Law, which is being used to curtail freedoms, punish dissent and shrink the space for opposition, free press and civil society.
Written Question
Friday 6th January 2023
Asked by:
Lord Cormack (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of religious freedom in Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, including Hong Kongers, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. Promoting the right to FoRB is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities.
The Sino-British Joint Declaration is a legally binding treaty between the UK and China, and under this China committed to uphold Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and protect the rights and freedoms of its people. This explicitly includes freedom of expression and freedom of religious belief.
However, the Hong Kong authorities have repeatedly used the National Security Law (NSL) to curtail freedoms, punish dissent and shrink the space for political opposition. We remain concerned about the growing use of the NSL to suppress freedom of expression and what this may mean for FoRB.
Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 01 Dec 2022
Anti-lockdown Protest in Shanghai: Arrest and Assault of Edward Lawrence
"My Lords, is it not all the more incumbent on us to be exemplary in the way we uphold freedom of speech in this country?..."Lord Cormack - View Speech
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 01 Dec 2022
Ukraine: Tactical Nuclear Weapons
"My Lords, we have heard a series of extremely thoughtful and well-considered speeches, which underlines the fact that we need a full day’s debate on Ukraine very early in the new year.
If your Lordships had any doubt about the terrible things that we are facing, please go across to …..."Lord Cormack - View Speech
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 17 Nov 2022
Missile Incident in Poland
"My Lords, I shall continue on this theme, strongly supporting the noble Lord, Lord West, in what he said. Is my noble friend absolutely confident that, if this conflict escalates, as well it might, this country is not only able to continue supplying Ukraine but has sufficient munitions itself to …..."Lord Cormack - View Speech
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 09 Nov 2022
Iran: Women Protesters
"My Lords, should we not also note that not only is Iran persecuting its own people, especially women, it is also supplying drones that are destroying the infrastructure of the Ukrainian people? Has my noble friend communicated that to the Iranian envoy in this country?..."Lord Cormack - View Speech
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 09 Nov 2022
Alaa Abd el-Fattah: Hunger Strike
"My Lords, I am sure we all appreciate the manner in which my noble friend has answered these very difficult questions about a very tragic case, and let us hope that the ultimate tragedy does not occur. Does this not raise a wider issue as to where international conferences, and …..."Lord Cormack - View Speech
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 07 Nov 2022
Northern Ireland Protocol Bill
"I am following up what the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, just said. The implication of what my noble and learned friend said from the Dispatch Box is that there is nowhere at all for the European Court of Justice. Is it really a total sticking point in the …..."Lord Cormack - View Speech
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 07 Nov 2022
Northern Ireland Protocol Bill
"My Lords, here we are again. I could not disagree with anything that has been said by anyone who has spoken. I would like the Minister, for whom we all have real affection and high regard—..."Lord Cormack - View Speech
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Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 07 Nov 2022
Northern Ireland Protocol Bill
"Of course, everything is discerning and discriminating.
I would like the Minister to give us two reasons, or even one, why it is sensible to carry on with this Bill. We have heard today from the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie, that sensible talks seem to be taking place on the …..."Lord Cormack - View Speech
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