Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Six-Monthly Report on Hong Kong, covering the period of 1 July to 31 December 2014 relating to the decision of the PRC Government to ban the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee from conducting an official inquiry by taking evidence within the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, whether he obtained legal advice on international law before its publication, and if he placed a record of all understandings and agreements reached by both countries under the Joint Declaration and subsequently through the Joint Liaison Group before the Foreign Affairs Committee before compiling the report; for what reasons universal suffrage was not incorporated in the Joint Declaration; and if the Government will take steps to encourage implementation of Article 45 of the Basic Law and immediately release all understandings and agreements reached by the Joint Liaison Group relating to Article 45 prior to 1990.

We have made clear, repeatedly, that the decision to refuse to allow the members of the previous Foreign Affairs Committee to enter Hong Kong in December 2014 was wholly unjustified and counter-productive. The Government did not obtain legal advice on international law before publishing the Six-Monthly Report on Hong Kong in question. Neither did it place a record of understandings and agreements reached by the UK and China before the Foreign Affairs Committee. The Joint Declaration does not refer to universal suffrage, but it provides for the Chief Executive to be selected by election or consultations and the legislature to be constituted by elections. The Government has made clear that implementation of Article 45 of the Basic Law is the best way to guarantee Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity, and continued momentum towards that goal is essential. There are no plans to release agreements reached by the Joint Liaison Group.