Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received an explanation from the government of Hong Kong for the rejection of a visa for the British journalist Victor Mallett; and if so, what it was.

We remain concerned by the Hong Kong authorities’ unprecedented rejection of a visa for senior British journalist Victor Mallet. The Minister for Asia and the Pacific raised this issue with Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung during his visit to Hong Kong on 11 November. He sought an explanation for the visa refusal, but did not receive one. In the absence of an explanation from the authorities we can only conclude that this move is politically motivated. This undermines Hong Kong’s freedom of speech and freedom of the press, both guaranteed by the Joint Declaration, and the Basic Law, and increases the pressure on the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ framework. Confidence in Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms is an essential component of its future success.