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Written Question
Jimmy Lai
Monday 18th December 2023

Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether officials in his Department have visited Jimmy Lai in Stanley Prison in Hong Kong ahead of his national security trial on 18 December 2023.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

We continue to press for consular access to Jimmy Lai and call for his release. Diplomats at our Consulate-General in Hong Kong continue to attend his court proceedings. The Foreign Secretary and I met with Jimmy's son Sebastien on 12 December to listen to his concerns for his father ahead of the trial starting in Hong Kong on 18 December. The Foreign Secretary raised Jimmy's case with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in their introductory call on 5 December, setting out his concern at the highly politicised nature of the prosecution.


Written Question
Hong Kong: Religious Freedom
Monday 18th December 2023

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for (a) his policies on Hong Kong and (b) freedom of religion or belief of the campaign of sinicisation of religion.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is committed to protecting the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and freedom globally. We continue to monitor FoRB in Hong Kong through our regular Six-monthly Reports to Parliament and interactions with local faith leaders. In our latest report, published on 19 September, we noted religious practice is generally not restricted in Hong Kong, with a variety of religious practices coexisting across the territory. However, it is clear many of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong's Basic Law are being curtailed under the guise of national security. China's imposition of the National Security Law (NSL) in Hong Kong represents a clear and serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The Foreign Secretary raised our concerns regarding the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 5 December. In line with the UN Human Rights Council recommendation in its International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights report on Hong Kong, we urge the Chinese authorities to repeal the NSL.


Written Question
Hong Kong: Civil Liberties
Monday 18th December 2023

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help tackle threats to freedom of (a) expression, (b) assembly, (c) association and (d) religion or belief in Hong Kong.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is committed to protecting the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and freedom globally. We continue to monitor FoRB in Hong Kong through our regular Six-monthly Reports to Parliament and interactions with local faith leaders. In our latest report, published on 19 September, we noted religious practice is generally not restricted in Hong Kong, with a variety of religious practices coexisting across the territory. However, it is clear many of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong's Basic Law are being curtailed under the guise of national security. China's imposition of the National Security Law (NSL) in Hong Kong represents a clear and serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The Foreign Secretary raised our concerns regarding the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 5 December. In line with the UN Human Rights Council recommendation in its International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights report on Hong Kong, we urge the Chinese authorities to repeal the NSL.


Written Question
Hong Kong: Civil Liberties
Monday 18th December 2023

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the National Security Law on (a) freedom of expression, (b) academic freedom, (c) press freedom and (d) freedom of religion or belief in Hong Kong.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is committed to protecting the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and freedom globally. We continue to monitor FoRB in Hong Kong through our regular Six-monthly Reports to Parliament and interactions with local faith leaders. In our latest report, published on 19 September, we noted religious practice is generally not restricted in Hong Kong, with a variety of religious practices coexisting across the territory. However, it is clear many of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong's Basic Law are being curtailed under the guise of national security. China's imposition of the National Security Law (NSL) in Hong Kong represents a clear and serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The Foreign Secretary raised our concerns regarding the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 5 December. In line with the UN Human Rights Council recommendation in its International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights report on Hong Kong, we urge the Chinese authorities to repeal the NSL.


Written Question
Hong Kong: Religious Freedom
Monday 18th December 2023

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the impact of trends in the level of freedom of expression on levels of freedom of religion and belief in Hong Kong.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is committed to protecting the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and freedom globally. We continue to monitor FoRB in Hong Kong through our regular Six-monthly Reports to Parliament and interactions with local faith leaders. In our latest report, published on 19 September, we noted religious practice is generally not restricted in Hong Kong, with a variety of religious practices coexisting across the territory. However, it is clear many of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong's Basic Law are being curtailed under the guise of national security. China's imposition of the National Security Law (NSL) in Hong Kong represents a clear and serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The Foreign Secretary raised our concerns regarding the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 5 December. In line with the UN Human Rights Council recommendation in its International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights report on Hong Kong, we urge the Chinese authorities to repeal the NSL.


Written Question
Hong Kong: Religious Freedom
Monday 18th December 2023

Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of levels of freedom of religion and belief in Hong Kong.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is committed to protecting the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and freedom globally. We continue to monitor FoRB in Hong Kong through our regular Six-monthly Reports to Parliament and interactions with local faith leaders. In our latest report, published on 19 September, we noted religious practice is generally not restricted in Hong Kong, with a variety of religious practices coexisting across the territory. However, it is clear many of the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong's Basic Law are being curtailed under the guise of national security. China's imposition of the National Security Law (NSL) in Hong Kong represents a clear and serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The Foreign Secretary raised our concerns regarding the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong with Foreign Minister Wang Yi on 5 December. In line with the UN Human Rights Council recommendation in its International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights report on Hong Kong, we urge the Chinese authorities to repeal the NSL.


Written Question
Hong Kong: International Economic Relations
Wednesday 13th December 2023

Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what his Department's policy is on whether Hong Kong should be represented at international economic organisations in the context of its changed status within China.

Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

As noted by the former Foreign Secretary in the latest Six-Monthly Report Hong Kong, Hong Kong's economic, monetary and financial systems remain distinct and robust from the mainland. The Sino-British Joint Declaration states that Hong Kong "may participate in relevant international organisations and international trade agreements… such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade". However, Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China and the Chinese government is responsible for its decisions on representation at state level to international organisations.


Written Question
British National (Overseas): Pensions
Wednesday 13th December 2023

Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if his Department will provide a formalised commitment to apply for British citizenship on behalf of Hong Kongers on the British National (Overseas) visa scheme to present to (a) HSBC and (b) other UK-based pension providers in the event that they are denied access to their pensions.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The UK firmly opposes the discrimination that British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) status holders are facing in applying for early withdrawal of their pension funds held by the Mandatory Provident Fund in Hong Kong. We have urged the Hong Kong authorities to facilitate the early drawdown of funds as is the case for other Hong Kong residents who move overseas permanently and will continue to do so.

After five years in the UK, those on the BN(O) route can apply for settlement, and after a further 12 months, they can apply for full UK citizenship. The Home Office does not have any plans to change the way we grant citizenship to those on the BN(O) route.


Written Question
Corporation Tax: International Cooperation
Tuesday 5th December 2023

Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department holds information on the countries that will implement the OECD Pillar 2 minimum corporation tax measures from 31 December 2023; and what discussions he has had with (a) the OECD and (b) his counterparts in other countries on the implementation of that measure.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Countries that have committed to apply Pillar 2 from 31 December 2023 or 1 January 2024 include: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Vietnam. Japan are implementing for 1 April 2024.

Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Hong-Kong and Singapore have committed to implement for 1 January 2025.

There are many other jurisdictions that have taken steps towards Pillar 2 implementation.

There are regular multilateral discussions at Ministerial level, including at the level of the G20, on how to ensure swift and coordinated implementation of Pillar 2, as well as the support that can be provided to developing countries in that regard.


Written Question
Hong Kong: Demonstrations
Tuesday 21st November 2023

Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of China about the punishments given to those who took part in the Hong Kong protest movement of 2019–20, and the continued harassment of protesters and their families.

Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The right to peaceful protest and freedom of assembly were both promised to Hong Kongers under the Sino-British Joint Declaration and enshrined in the Basic Law. Thousands who were arrested following the protests in 2019-2020 are still awaiting trial. Attempts by the authorities to harass or intimidate individuals or their families for exercising their right to freedom to peaceful protest and assembly is unacceptable. We continue to urge the Hong Kong authorities to provide certainty to those awaiting trial and for China to act in accordance to the international obligations it freely entered into.