Hong Kong Watch statement on the announcement of Chinese sanctions on HKW patrons and UK parliamentarians

The sanctioning of 9 individuals and 4 entities by the Chinese Communist Party today, including UK parliamentarians and Hong Kong Watch’s patrons, Lord David Alton of Liverpool and Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, formally marks the end of so-called ‘golden era’ of relations between the UK and China.

A regime that sanctions UK parliamentarians, barristers, academics and activists for the “crime” of voicing out concern over human rights abuse cannot seriously be considered a partner to the UK or a supporter of the international-rules based order.

As British parliamentarians, QCs, and even the Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission are now on a Chinese sanctions list, the time has come to ask why none of the officials and entities responsible for the crackdown in Hong Kong have been sanctioned.

The UK should be considering all steps to hold Beijing to account. It is clear that the UK Government must immediately review the UK’s strategic dependency on China, consider counter-measures in the form of targeted Magnitsky sanctions, and review the role UK finance and pension funds play in propping up China companies engaged in human rights abuses.