Hong Kong National Security Legislation

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:52 pm on 1 July 2020.

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Photo of Thomas Tugendhat Thomas Tugendhat Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee, Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee 12:52, 1 July 2020

I welcome the bipartisan nature of this discussion and the fact that both sides of the House so clearly agree that this is a violation of the Sino-British joint declaration. I also welcome the Home Secretary’s decision to extend immigration rights to those with BNO status. As the Foreign Secretary will know, that is supported by about two thirds of UK people, according to a China Research Group poll published this morning.

The extraterritorial nature of the legislation has direct implications for our own university sector and freedom of speech in our academic institutions, as Chinese students have already been influenced to silence debate and change outcomes here in the UK. The legislation also raises questions about our legal system because, as the shadow Foreign Secretary said, British judges sit in judgment in Hong Kong. How can they defend civil and commercial rights if those rights are being violated by the very law they are sent to uphold?

We are watching this spread to other areas. Taiwan is already under increasing pressure, as the former Foreign Secretary and former Health Secretary, my right hon. Friend Jeremy Hunt, has pointed out. The removal of the word “peaceful” in reference to the bringing together of China by the time the Communist party is 100 years old is a big change. Will the Foreign Secretary join me and the Chairs of the Select Committees in Australia, Canada and New Zealand in calling for not just a statement at the UN Human Rights Council but that the Council send a special rapporteur to Hong Kong? What happens in Hong Kong matters to the whole world.