Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 14 February (HL2065), whether it remains their position that no British nationals have been named co-conspirators by the prosecution in Jimmy Lai’s National Security Law trial in Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The prosecution in Mr Lai's politically motivated trial has sought to highlight Mr Lai's relationships with foreign nationals; including British nationals. As we have made clear the naming of any British national in this trial is unacceptable. None are named as co-conspirators on Mr Lai's charge sheet. In the prosecution's opening statement British nationals Mr Luke de Pulford and Mr Bill Browder have been referenced as individuals Mr Lai "conspired with" amongst others. In the same statement, Mr Benedict Rogers and Mr de Pulford have been referenced as individuals Mr Lai "collaborated with, gave instructions to and/or relayed or received information among a network of persons acting as agents and/or intermediaries in particular for the purposes of requesting sanctions, etc". The judges in the trial have not yet ruled on the prosecution's claims. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific has met with several of the individuals and we have made clear our concerns to the Chinese authorities.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of the People's Republic of China, including in discussions between the Foreign Secretary and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference, to call for the immediate removal of sanctions against British parliamentarians who have raised concerns regarding human rights issues in China, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government considers China's sanctions to be completely unwarranted and unacceptable. When China imposed the sanctions in 2021, the former Minister for Asia summoned China's representative in the UK to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to lodge a strong, formal protest. We continue to urge the Chinese authorities at the highest levels to rescind the sanctions; the Foreign Secretary has called for their removal at both of his engagements with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi - in person at the Munich Security Conference on 16 February, and during their introductory call in December 2023. The former Foreign Secretary also consistently raised sanctioned Parliamentarians, including during his visit to Beijing in August 2023. The Government will continue to raise this issue in our engagement with China.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of the People's Republic of China, including in discussions between the Foreign Secretary and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference, to call for an end to transnational repression of Hong Kong people living in the United Kingdom, and the removal of bounties for their arrest.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 16 February, the Foreign Secretary met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference. In line with the Government's "protect, align, and engage" approach to China, as set out in the Integrated Review Refresh, the Foreign Secretary raised a number of issues important to the UK national interest. The Foreign Secretary reiterated his call for the release of British national Jimmy Lai and unambiguously set out the UK's position across a number of areas of disagreement, including on Hong Kong. On 17 December, the Foreign Secretary called on the Chinese authorities to repeal the National Security Law and end the prosecution of all individuals charged under it. We have been clear that we will not tolerate any attempts to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of the People's Republic of China, including in discussions between the Foreign Secretary and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference, to call for the repeal of the Hong Kong national security law and the release of all political prisoners in Hong Kong.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 16 February, the Foreign Secretary met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference. In line with the Government's "protect, align, and engage" approach to China, as set out in the Integrated Review Refresh, the Foreign Secretary raised a number of issues important to the UK national interest. The Foreign Secretary reiterated his call for the release of British national Jimmy Lai and unambiguously set out the UK's position across a number of areas of disagreement, including on Hong Kong. On 17 December, the Foreign Secretary called on the Chinese authorities to repeal the National Security Law and end the prosecution of all individuals charged under it. We have been clear that we will not tolerate any attempts to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of the People's Republic of China, including in discussions between the Foreign Secretary and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference, regarding the case of British citizen Jimmy Lai.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 16 February, the Foreign Secretary met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference. In line with the Government's "protect, align, and engage" approach to China, as set out in the Integrated Review Refresh, the Foreign Secretary raised a number of issues important to the UK national interest. The Foreign Secretary reiterated his call for the release of British national Jimmy Lai and unambiguously set out the UK's position across a number of areas of disagreement, including on Hong Kong. On 17 December, the Foreign Secretary called on the Chinese authorities to repeal the National Security Law and end the prosecution of all individuals charged under it. We have been clear that we will not tolerate any attempts to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he met the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in the last 12 months.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There have been no ministerial meetings with the Chief Executive of Hong Kong in the last 12 Months.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to Interpol regarding (1) arrest warrants being issued by the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities for Hong Kong dissidents and (2) their targeting through Interpol, including through its Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government strongly supports INTERPOL’s efforts to ensure systems are in place that protect individuals’ human rights in line with Article 3 of INTERPOL's Constitution which strictly forbids any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.
The Home Office continues to work with INTERPOL and the National Crime Agency (NCA), which acts as the UK’s National Central Bureau (NCB) for INTERPOL, to monitor the effectiveness of existing safeguards. We encourage INTERPOL to uphold international human rights obligations and we won’t hesitate to recommend further reforms to INTERPOL as necessary.
We are continuing to strengthen our collective efforts to deter the misuse of INTERPOL systems and support organisational reform and governance at INTERPOL.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports of the Turkish government's misuse of the Interpol Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database, what assessment they have made of the Chinese government's ability to use the SLTD database to target Chinese and Hong Kong dissidents abroad.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government strongly supports INTERPOL’s efforts to ensure systems are in place that protect individuals’ human rights in line with Article 3 of INTERPOL's Constitution which strictly forbids any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.
The Home Office continues to work with INTERPOL and the National Crime Agency (NCA), which acts as the UK’s National Central Bureau (NCB) for INTERPOL, to monitor the effectiveness of existing safeguards. We encourage INTERPOL to uphold international human rights obligations and we won’t hesitate to recommend further reforms to INTERPOL as necessary.
We are continuing to strengthen our collective efforts to deter the misuse of INTERPOL systems and support organisational reform and governance at INTERPOL.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the remarks of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Dr Alice Gill Edwards' published on 31 January, regarding the alleged torture of witnesses in the ongoing Hong Kong trial of Jimmy Lai; what discussions they have held with Dr Edwards regarding her remarks; and what discussions they plan to hold with the governments of China and Hong Kong on behalf of the alleged victim.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of media reports and a submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Cruel, Inhumane, Degrading Treatment or Punishment alleging mistreatment of Andy Li while he was detained in mainland China. We take all allegations of torture and mistreatment very seriously and are looking into this further. Article 15 of the Convention against Torture, which China has ratified, prohibits the use of statements established to have been made as a result of torture in court proceedings. Diplomats from our Consulate-General are attending Mr Lai's court proceedings as the trial continues.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the attempt by prosecutors in Hong Kong to label foreign nationals as “co-conspirators” in the trial of Jimmy Lai; what significance they attach to the designation “co-conspirator”; and what representations they have made to the authorities in Hong Kong and China regarding the “co-conspirator” designation.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Minister for the Indo-Pacific said on 23 January, it is unacceptable that British nationals have been named by the prosecution in Jimmy Lai's national security trial in Hong Kong. None are named as co-conspirators on Mr Lai's charge sheet. The Minister for the Indo-Pacific has met with several of the individuals and we have made clear our concerns to the Chinese authorities. We will not tolerate any attempts to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK. The National Security Law has no authority in the UK and we have no active extradition agreement with Hong Kong or China.