FCO should summon Chinese Ambassador, says Committee
10 December 2014
The FCO’s response to the ban by China on the planned Foreign Affairs Committee visit to Hong Kong does not go far enough, says the Committee in a short report, published today.
- Report: Hong Kong: China's ban on the Committee's visit
- Report: Hong Kong: China's ban on the Committee's visit (PDF 234 KB)
- Inquiry: Hong Kong: China's ban on the Committee's visit
- Foreign Affairs Committee
The Committee planned to visit Hong Kong as part of an inquiry into the UK’s relations with Hong Kong, 30 years after the signing of the Joint Declaration. The Chinese and Hong Kong authorities have argued that the inquiry constitutes interference in China’s internal affairs. On 28 November, the Chinese Deputy Ambassador informed the Committee that the Chinese government would take measures to prevent the Committee from visiting Hong Kong despite the fact that, as UK nationals, no entry visa is required. The visit has been postponed as a result.
Following the Emergency Debate in the Commons on the matter on 2 December, the FCO Minister, Rt Hon Hugo Swire wrote to the Committee calling the ban on the Committee’s entry into Hong Kong "wholly unjustified", and argued that the Government had been "robust" in its response to the ban.
Chairman of the Committee, Sir Richard Ottaway MP says,
"The Chinese Government’s decision to prevent the Foreign Affairs Committee entering Hong Kong is an insult to the House of Commons and the UK as a whole. We do not think the FCO’s response has gone far enough. The British Government should react more strongly to this unprecedented and overtly confrontational act, including by summoning the Chinese Ambassador to the FCO."
The Committee will continue to engage with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities in the hope that the visit can be rescheduled. The Committee will publish a more wide-ranging report at the end of the inquiry.