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Written question asked by Caroline Lucas (Green Party) on Tuesday, 9 October 2018, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 11 October 2018. It was answered by Mark Field (Conservative) on Tuesday, 16 October 2018 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Hong Kong: Visas

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what what representations he has made to his counterpart in Hong Kong on the decision not to renew the visa of the Asia News editor at the Financial Times.

Answer

The Foreign Secretary issued the following statement on 9 October 2018:

“I remain very concerned by the Hong Kong authorities’ unprecedented rejection of a visa for senior British journalist Victor Mallet. In the absence of an explanation from the authorities we can only conclude that this move is politically motivated. This undermines Hong Kong’s freedom of speech and freedom of the press, both guaranteed by the Joint Declaration, and the Basic Law, and increases the pressure on the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ framework. I urge the Hong Kong authorities to reconsider this decision. Confidence in Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms is an essential component of its future success.”

We shall continue to raise this issue with the Hong Kong authorities.

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Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
177265
Session
2017-19
Subjects
Hong Kong Staff Visas Asia Financial Times
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk