Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will issue an apology for the lack of (a) referendum and (b) recognition of the right to self-determination for Hong Kong residents prior to the handover of Hong Kong to China.

The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration committed China to preserve Hong Kong's way of life for a period of at least 50 years. Since 2021, the UK has considered China to be in a state of ongoing non-compliance with the Joint Declaration.

As a co-signatory of the Joint Declaration, the UK will continue to stand up for the people of Hong Kong, to call out the violation of their freedoms, and to hold China to its international obligations.

The UK has demonstrated its historic and moral commitment to Hong Kongers who have chosen to retain their ties to the UK through the bespoke visa route for British National (Overseas) status holders and their families.