Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of reports that HSBC has terminated opposition party bank accounts in Hong Kong.

We are aware of these reports. Financial institutions operating in Hong Kong do so within a strict legal and regulatory framework. We will continue to use our channels with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to make clear our strong opposition to the ongoing erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong and China's ongoing non-compliance with the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The Foreign Secretary made plain our views with Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng on 5 May.