Elizabeth Tang
Question
Catherine West
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the arrest of the former chairperson of the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions in March 2023.
Answer
We have been clear that the deliberate targeting of pro-democracy and civil society figures under the National Security Law is unacceptable. The freedom to join and form trade unions is explicitly guaranteed under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which China willingly entered into. However, NGOs, trade unions and human rights organisations not supportive of the Chinese and Hong Kong governments' agenda have been forced to disband or leave. We will call out China's actions, when it breaks its international obligations, and continue to raise areas of disagreement with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. The Foreign Secretary last did so with former Foreign Minister Wang Yi and at the UN Human Rights Council in February.