Hong Kong Watch makes submission to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy

On Tuesday 26 March, the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy (JCNSS) in the UK Parliament published Hong Kong Watch’s submission to its Defending Democracy inquiry. 

The Defending Democracy Taskforce was established by the British government in November 2022 to investigate ways of building resilience across all levels of the UK’s democratic system, preserving the democratic integrity of the UK from threats of foreign interference. On 1 February 2024 the JCNSS launched a Call for Evidence on Defending Democracy and ensuring that electoral processes and infrastructure are secure and resilient. 

In our submission, Hong Kong Watch raised the issue of transnational repression of BNO Hong Kongers in the UK, and its potential impact on BNO visa holders’ participation in the UK’s electoral democracy as we enter an election year. 

​​Many BNO visa holders remain concerned about threats against themselves and their families back in Hong Kong. Officials and supporters of the PRC have committed violence against Hong Kongers in the UK, and many BNOs remain concerned about threats to family members in Hong Kong. The announcement earlier this week of an attempted hack by agents of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on the Electoral Commission and on members of both Houses of Parliament is only likely to intensify these fears, and it is imperative that the UK take steps to strengthen its response to these attempts at intimidation. 

In our submission, we recommended that the UK Government could increase the resilience of its democracy and counter transnational repression. These include additional provisions in the ‘state threats aggravating factor’ to cover criminal actions aimed at individuals identified by a foreign power as a dissident or otherwise enemy of the state, and coordinating with INTERPOL to block the Chinese and Hong Kong Governments from accessing the sensitive data of the Hong Kongers with arrest warrants.

The UK Government should also consider taking stronger action against Overseas Chinese Affairs Office/United Front Work Department (UFWD) employees, following the example of Canada. This might entail a restriction on the right to remain in the UK for current and former employees of the UFWD, or perhaps restrictions on entry to the United Kingdom for current employees. 

Thomas Benson, Research and Policy Advisor at Hong Kong Watch, commented: 

“Just this week, we have seen evidence that the government of the PRC has taken steps to undermine the security of the UK’s electoral infrastructure. For BNO visa holders living in the UK, the fear that the security forces of the PRC might be able to access their personal information via the Electoral Roll is likely to severely impact their willingness to participate in electoral politics, and thus have a voice in UK public life.

More can and should be done to protect the sensitive data of Hong Kongers, and to ensure that violence or threats against this group, or any other, are properly reflected as a national security issue when carried out on behalf of a foreign power. We hope that the Defending Democracy Taskforce itself, and the JCNSS, find our submission illustrative and consider our recommendations for improving the resilience of UK democracy.” 

香港監察向英國國會國安策略聯合委員會提交書面證據 提請關注BNO港人面對跨國鎮壓問題

3月26日，英國國會國家安全策略聯合委員會（Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy，簡稱國安策略聯合委員會）公布香港監察向其「捍衛民主（Defending Democracy）」調查提交的書面證據。

英國政府在2022年11月成立捍衛民主工作小組（Defending Democracy Taskforce），旨在研究如何在英國民主制度各層面上建立抵禦力，維護英國民主體系完整，免受外國干預威脅。2024年2月1日，國安策略聯合委員會發起「捍衛民主」調查，以期確保選舉過程及基礎設施安全且有抵禦力，並就此徵集證據。

香港監察在文件中提出居英BNO香港人面對的跨國鎮壓問題，以及有關問題對BNO簽證持有人在大選年參與英國民主選舉的潛在影響。

香港監察研究及政策顧問Thomas Benson表示：

「就在這星期，我們看到有證據顯示中國政府已出手破壞英國選舉基礎設施的安全。對於居住在英國的BNO簽證持有人來說，中國保安部隊有可能透過選民名冊取得他們的個人資料，這憂慮或會嚴重影響他們參與選舉政治以對英國公共事務有發言權的意欲。

英國政府能夠而且應該採取更多措施保護香港人的敏感資料，並確保把代表外國勢力針對香港人或任何其他群體施加的暴力或威脅，適當列為國家安全問題。我們希望捍衛民主工作小組及國安策略聯合委員會認為我們提交的文件有助闡明問題，並考慮我們就提升英國民主抵禦力提出的建議。」