Last Governor of Hong Kong Lord Patten condemns Beijing’s “relentless assault” on Hong Kong’s freedoms following Stand News closure

Lord Patten of Barnes, the last British Governor of Hong Kong and a patron of Hong Kong Watch, has today issued a statement in response to the police raid and closure of StandNews and the arrests of StandNews journalists and pro-democracy activists Denise Ho and Margaret Ng.

Commenting on the closure of StandNews and the arrests, Lord Patten said:

“Xi Jinping’s Communist dictatorship in Beijing and its quisling sidekicks in Hong Kong continue their relentless assault on the city’s freedoms. The latest episode is yet a further attack on freedom of speech. As the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said, Communists do not seem to understand the difference between journalism and sedition.

 In addition to what the British government has said already, along with other democratic governments around the world, I hope the Foreign Secretary will comment comprehensively and explicitly on China’s latest brutal mendacity.

I also hope that the government will now accept the amendment to the Nationality and Borders Bill, tabled by a broad cross-section of Conservatives and those from other parties, to offer a lifeline to young Hong Kongers currently ineligible for the British National Overseas (BNO) scheme, which covers their parents. Many of Beijing’s administration in Hong Kong, for example the Chief Executive and the Chief Secretary, have ensured that members of their own families have British citizenship. It would be an appalling irony if we allow the families of representatives of the Beijing regime in Hong Kong the right of abode in Britain, while not allowing the right of abode for those persecuted by self-serving United Front activists whose record will drown in infamy.”

前港督彭定康勳爵譴責北京侵害香港新聞自由 並呼籲英國政府接納BNO修正案

香港監察的贊助人、前港督彭定康勳爵發表聲明，對香港警方搜查立場新聞、對立場新聞記者、何韻詩及吳靄儀等人被捕，以及對立場新聞停運作出回應。

彭定康勳爵指習近平在北京的共產主義獨裁政權和它在香港的親信正繼續無情地攻擊港人自由，最近的事件是進一步侵害言論自由。他指正如美國國務卿布林肯所說，中國共產黨似乎不明白新聞和煽動之間的區別。彭定康勳爵指希望英國外交大臣會全面地中國最近的野蠻狡詐作出明確的評論。彭定康勳爵於聲明中指希望英國政府能馬上接納由保守黨提出、獲得多黨派議員支持的《國籍和邊界法案》修正案，為目前未合資格申請 BNO 簽證的年輕港人提供救生艇。