Joint statement from civil society and human rights organisations on UK Foreign Secretary’s visit to China
We, the undersigned, representing civil society and human rights organisations across the UK,
urge British Foreign Secretary David Lammy to use his official visit to Beijing and Shanghai to
raise concerns about the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO) in Hong Kong: in
particular, its extraterritoriality clauses, which allows the law to be wielded as a threat against
Hong Kongers in the UK under the British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa scheme, an act which
can credibly be described as transnational repression.
Given the UK’s historical commitments to Hong Kong, which underpinned the establishment of
the BNO visa scheme in January 2021, the Foreign Secretary has a responsibility to speak up for
the more than 150,000 Hong Kongers now living in the UK. These Hong Kongers are
increasingly concerned about transnational repression, following the passing of the SNSO and a
number of incidents of transnational repression in the UK. These include the Hong Kong
National Security Police issuing arrest warrants and bounties for six Hong Kongers in the UK in
July and December 2023, Chinese activists violently attacking peaceful Hong Kong
demonstrators in Southampton in June 2023, and the Chinese Consul General along with a
number of embassy staff assaulting Bob Chan and other peaceful Hong Kong protestors at the
Chinese Consulate in Manchester in October 2022. The UK must fulfil its duty to protect those
who now call the UK home.
The Foreign Secretary should raise China’s and Hong Kong’s non-recognition of the BNO
passport. This has caused an estimated 126,500 Hong Kongers to be blocked from accessing
their Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) retirement savings, which they are ordinarily entitled to
release in full after declaring that they have permanently departed from Hong Kong. The Foreign
Secretary should emphasise that BNO passports are both valid travel documents and forms of
identification as they are issued by the UK government.
The Foreign Secretary should also communicate the UK government’s concerns around the case
of 76-year-old British citizen Jimmy Lai. Mr Lai has been behind bars in Hong Kong for nearly
1,400 days, and remains on trial on trumped-up charges under the Hong Kong National Security
Law which carries a maximum punishment of life in prison. While in China, the Foreign
Secretary should publicly call for Mr Lai’s immediate and unconditional release.
Finally, the Foreign Secretary should question the SNSO’s compatibility with international
human rights standards and international human rights treaties which Hong Kong is party to and
which it has incorporated into the Basic Law of Hong Kong, including the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
The Foreign Secretary should send a clear and strong message to the Government of the People’s
Republic of China that human rights violations have a cost. He should also introduce measures to
protect the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong people in exile from Beijing’s long-arm of
transnational repression, including by ensuring that the UK-issued Hong Kong passport is
recognised around the world.
Signatories (in alphabetical order)
Amnesty International UK
ARTICLE 19
Bonham Tree Aid
China Watch
Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation
Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong
Hong Kong Aid 港援
Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC)
Hongkongers in Britain (HKB)
Hong Kongers in Leeds
Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor
Hong Kong Media Overseas (HKMO)
Hong Kong Watch
Human Rights in China (HRIC)
North East Hongkongers Club, UK
Reading UK Stands with Hong Kong
Scottish Hongkongers
Southampton HongKongers
Sutton Hongkong Culture and Arts Society
The Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders
The Rights Practice
Trafford Hongkongers CIC
UK Welcomes Refugees
