Twenty-three civil society and human rights organisations urge UK Foreign Secretary to raise concerns about Article 23 legislation, MPF and Jimmy Lai during visit to China

This week, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is expected to visit Beijing and Shanghai, marking his first visit to China as Foreign Secretary.

Hong Kong Watch and civil society and human rights organisations have signed a joint statement urging the Foreign Secretary to “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.” The statement highlights the Foreign Secretary’s responsibility to speak up for the more than 150,000 Hong Kongers now living in the UK, citing a number of incidents of transnational repression against Hong Kongers in Britain.

The organisations also implore the Foreign Secretary to address the People’s Republic of China’s non-recognition of the BNO passport, which has caused an estimated 126,500 Hong Kongers to be blocked from accessing their Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) retirement savings. The Foreign Secretary should raise the withholding of Hong Kongers’ MPF savings and emphasise that BNO passports are both valid travel documents and forms of identification as they are issued by the UK government.

Last but not least, the organisations call on the Foreign Secretary to communicate the UK government’s concerns around the case of British citizen Jimmy Lai. The statement reads: “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.”

During his visit to China, it is crucial that the Foreign Secretary raises serious concerns about the SNSO in Hong Kong, the non-recognition of UK-issued BNO passports, and Jimmy Lai. “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.”

The full statement is available here.

英國外相林德偉本週訪華 香港監察等23個民間及人權組織聯署促請就23條、MPF、黎智英案提出關注

英國外交大臣林德偉（David Lammy）本週料將訪問北京和上海，這是他首次以外相身分訪華。

香港監察聯同民間及人權組織簽署聯合聲明，促請外相就香港《維護國家安全條例》（俗稱23條）提出關注，尤其是涉及域外效力的條文。聲明強調外相有責任為超過15萬名現居英國的香港人發聲，並列舉多宗針對居英港人的跨國鎮壓事件。

聯署組織亦請求外相處理中國不承認BNO護照的問題，估計有126,500名港人因此而被阻撓提取強積金（MPF）退休儲蓄。外相應提出港人MPF儲蓄被扣押的問題，並強調BNO護照由英國政府發出，因此是有效的旅行證件和身分證明。

最後，聯署組織呼籲外相傳達英國政府對英國公民黎智英案件的關注。聲明指，外相在中國期間應公開呼籲立即無條件釋放黎智英。

訪華期間，外相必須就23條、英國發出的BNO護照不獲承認一事，以及黎智英案提出嚴正關注。聲明指 「外相應向中國政府傳遞清晰而強烈的信息：侵犯人權是要付出代價的。」

聲明全文請見此處。