Fiona was pleased to have been able to speak out yesterday in the House of Commons about the extremely concerning democratic situation in Hong Kong. Fiona emphasised the importance that many more people need to speak out about this, and praised Anson Chan, former Chief Secretary to the Government in Hong Kong, for doing so. Fiona recently met with Anson Chan in Parliament to discuss the situation in Hong Kong. You can see Fiona's question and the answer from the Leader of the House of Commons below.
Fiona asked:
"Is the Leader of the House aware of concerns regarding challenges to the democratic system of government in Hong Kong? Some elected representatives there are being prevented from taking their seats in the legislature, and a recent statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the Sino-British joint declaration as “a historical document”, which “no longer has any practical significance”.
This month marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Hong Kong as a special administrative region on the principle of “one country, two systems”, so will she consider a debate in Government time about this concerning issue?"
Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom MP responded:
"My hon. Friend makes an incredibly important point. The Minister for Asia and the Pacific met the Chinese ambassador on 5 July, when he stressed the UK’s strong commitment to the Sino-British joint declaration—a legally binding treaty, registered with the UN, which continues to be in force. As co-signatory to the joint declaration, the UK will continue to stress to the Chinese Government the need to implement faithfully the one country, two systems arrangement."