Reading Tom Baldwin’s biography of Keir Starmer, our new Prime Minister’s passion for human rights comes through clearly. Not simply as legal theory, but the ways in which it impacts people’s lives. And his willingness to go the extra mile to defend human rights – involving many overseas visits to parts of Africa and the Commonwealth, for example, to defend death penalty cases – is impressive.
Less than a week after he took office, Starmer travelled to Washington, DC for the NATO Summit, where he pledged to be ‘robust’ on human rights in China. That is a welcome promise, and one which – given his track record – I don’t doubt is in line with his values. The question now is what does that mean in practice?
There are many issues in China which Starmer’s new government should address. I would like to see them be ‘robust’ in trying to stop the genocide of the Uyghurs, the atrocities in Tibet, the persecution of Christians and Falun Gong, and the crackdown on dissidents, lawyers, bloggers, journalists and civil society across China. But there is one issue for which the United Kingdom has a particular moral responsibility, and on which so far Starmer and his government has said little: Hong Kong.
I hope we will hear news from them on this area soon. And in case they are looking for ideas, I have ten suggestions for them.
First, I warmly welcome the appointment of Catherine West as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Indo-Pacific. She knows the region first-hand, understands the brief and has a long track record of speaking up for Hong Kong as well as other human rights issues in China. She was a founding Patron of Hong Kong Watch, the organisation I co-founded in 2017, and only stepped down this month upon her welcome appointment as a minister.
And yet, there are two concerns here.
Although I greatly admire Catherine, I wonder why we do not hear more from the Prime Minister or the Foreign Secretary on what is one of our biggest foreign policy challenges, China, and one of our greatest moral responsibilities, Hong Kong?
Also, Catherine’s predecessor in the same brief, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, was a Minister of State and indeed a former cabinet minister. I wonder why someone with the experience and knowledge that Catherine has, who was the Shadow Minister of State, was not given the same seniority in the new government? I would like the brief, with Catherine in it, to be promoted to Minister of State at the earliest opportunity.
Second, I welcome the fact that the government will have an audit of China policy, across Whitehall. This is something I have long advocated and is long overdue. But the review must not be a smokescreen or an excuse to kick the issue into the long grass. It must be comprehensive but rapid. It must be transparent and inclusive, and engage diaspora communities in the UK – particularly Hong Kongers, but also Uyghurs and Tibetans – and human rights organisations. At the end of this review, Starmer should give a keynote speech setting out the government’s China policy – including its approach to Hong Kong.
Third, the last government deserves credit for introducing the British National Overseas (BNO) scheme, which provided a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers to leave Hong Kong and build a new life in freedom in the UK. The new government must signal its clear support for this scheme’s continuation, and identify ways to expand it to those who do not currently qualify for it. This is particularly relevant for those born before 1997 who may have been eligible but whose parents did not register them for it. I hope the new government will study Hong Kong Watch’s proposals in this regard.
Fourth, sanction those responsible for dismantling Hong Kong’s freedoms. That means targeted sanctions against Beijing and Hong Kong officials directly responsible for the crackdown on human rights. This was the one step the last government never took – but one which is long overdue. Sanction Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee, as Hong Kong Watch argued in a submission to the Foreign Office a year ago, and sanction others responsible for brutal repression.
Fifth, call repeatedly for the immediate and unconditional release of British citizen Jimmy Lai. Lai is a 76 year-old entrepreneur, founder of the Apple Daily newspaper and pro-democracy campaigner who has spent over three and a half years in jail and is currently on trial under Hong Kong’s draconian National Security Law, which could see him die in prison. Starmer and Lammy should meet at the earliest opportunity with Lai’s son Sebastien, as David Cameron did last December, and repeatedly and vocally demand Lai’s release.
Sixth, for young Hong Kongers who are in the UK as BNOs and want to go to university, charge them home fees. Currently, they are liable for international tuition fees, even though they are in the UK and on track to become British citizens. The Scottish government has changed this, allowing Hong Kongers who have been in Scotland for three years to be eligible for home fees. I hope the new Education Secretary will read Hong Kong Watch’s briefing on this and introduce UK-wide changes accordingly.
Seventh, put pressure on pension providers, especially HSBC and Standard Chartered, who are doing the Chinese Communist Party’s dirty work by blocking exiled Hong Kongers’ access to their hard-earned retirement savings. This primarily affects Hong Kong BNO status holders, who have been denied the right to withdraw their savings from Hong Kong’s Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) when leaving Hong Kong, but recent reports suggest other pro-democracy exiled Hong Kong activists have also been affected. The last Governor of Hong Kong Lord Patten has written to ministers and the banks, and I hope Starmer will grip this urgent issue.
Eighth, take transnational repression seriously. It was something the last Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, now running for the Conservative Party leadership, was making headway on. I hope this is an issue his successor Dan Jarvis, and the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, will tackle. Make sure that Hong Kongers in the UK who feel threatened – whether at protests, by infiltration by Chinese agents or as a result of the Hong Kong government issuing arrest warrants and bounties – receive the security measures required for them to feel safe here.
Ninth, related to the last point, review the status of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, which today functions simply as a second outpost for the Chinese Communist Party’s embassy and as a hub for Chinese transnational repression and espionage. It no longer represents Hong Kong’s autonomy, which has been dismantled; instead it represents Beijing’s thuggery. Why do we give Xi Jinping’s regime multiple diplomatic outposts?
And tenth, given Starmer’s love of international law, could he not review what actions could be taken to hold China to account for its blatant violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, an international treaty registered at the United Nations and still valid until 2047?
There are many other things that could be suggested, but I hope this gives the Prime Minister and his government something to reflect on over the summer recess – and to act on with urgency. Among the many challenges the new government faces, it must signal early on that it will speak up for human rights in Hong Kong and help Hong Kongers in the UK.
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