Tag: Hong Kong

Bishop of St Albans asks about government steps towards securing release of British citizen in custody in Hong Kong

In his valedictory contribution in the House of Lords on 22nd May 2025, the Bishop of St Albans tabled a question on government efforts to secure the release of Jimmy Lai from Chinese custody:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty’s Government what recent steps they have taken towards securing the release of Jimmy Lai.

Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab, FCDO): My Lords, British national Jimmy Lai’s case is a priority for this Government. We continue to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecution and release him. The Foreign Secretary committed in the House of Commons that Ministers would raise Jimmy Lai’s case with the Hong Kong and Chinese officials at every opportunity, and we have been doing so. Our diplomats have attended his trial and continue to press for consular access.

I know the right reverend Prelate will be retiring at the end of the month. I express my gratitude and, I am sure, that of the whole House for all his work.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about pro-democracy protestors from Hong Kong

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 27th January 2025:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government whether they intend to meet the four UK-based pro-democracy campaigners who had bounties placed on them by the Hong Kong Police on 24 December 2024.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about support for UK Citizens named in criminal proceedings in Hong Kong

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 29th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what support they are providing to those UK citizens names as co-conspirators in the trial of Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about treatment of UK-based Hong-Kong activist Nathan Law and his family

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 4th September 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the Hong Kong police raid on the family of the UK-based Hong Kong activist, Nathan Law, on 11 June; and what, if any, representations they have made to the government of Hong Kong regarding this incident.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about extradition from the UK

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 4th September 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what, if any, extradition arrangements exist between the UK and (1) the People’s Republic of China, and (2) the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con, Home Office): The UK does not have a bilateral extradition treaty with the People’s Republic of China. The Foreign Secretary made a statement in the House of Commons in July 2020 on the status of the UK-Hong Kong Extradition Treaty, confirming its indefinite suspension.

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Bishop of Exeter asks about importance of upholding human rights in international relations

On 6th July 2023, the Bishop of Exeter asked a question on the importance of supporting and upholding human rights during an exchange on the status of pro-democracy activists in China and Hong Kong:

The Lord Bishop of Exeter: My Lords, I thank the Minister for his answers, but does he not agree that this case is yet further evidence for the revisionist tendencies of the Chinese Government when it comes to human rights? This tendency will only intensify as China tries to use its economic and political muscle to mute its critics, so does it not underscore the importance of His Majesty’s Government working tirelessly to revive the spirit of universality that originally inspired the human rights project in upholding core rights and freedoms?

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Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham tables amendment to mitigate caps for safe and legal asylum routes

On 5th July 2023, the House of Lords debated the Illegal Migration Bill in the final day of the report stage. The Bishop of Durham spoke in support of his amendment 162, which would exclude schemes for those displaced from Ukraine, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Hong Kong BN(O) routes from the safe and legal routes cap proposed in the bill:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I again note my interests as laid out in the register. I will speak to Amendment 162. In Committee, I explained the well-intentioned nature of this amendment and hoped it would have afforded the Minister the opportunity to clarify that any cap placed on safe and legal routes would exclude current named schemes already in operation. I appreciate the Minister’s comments. He said:

“The cap will not automatically apply to all current and new safe and legal routes that we offer or will introduce in the future.”—[Official Report, 4/6/23; col. 1980.]

But, with respect, how can local authorities reflect on accommodation provision for new routes without excluding their current commitments from this assessment?

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Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham moves amendment to exclude certain groups from cap on safe and legal migration routes

On 14th June 2023, the House of Lords debated the Illegal Migration Bill in the fifth day of committee. The Bishop of Durham moved his amendment 128B to the bill, which would “exclude the schemes for those displaced from Ukraine, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Hong Kong BN(O) routes from the safe and legal routes cap.”

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I remind the Committee of my interests with the RAMP project and as a trustee of Reset, as laid out in the register. In moving Amendment 128B, I am grateful to the noble Baronesses, Lady Stroud and Lady Lister, and the noble Lord, Lord Purvis of Tweed, for their support, which, in itself, I hope demonstrates that this whole business of safe and legal routes is a matter about which there is common mind across the House and that we all agree that we need safe and legal routes. I am therefore looking forward to the next couple of hours—as I anticipate it might be—as we explore these issues, because this is really a debate about what is the best, how and when.

This amendment is a straightforward and well-intentioned addition to ensure that any cap placed on safe and legal routes excludes current named schemes already in operation. I hope, therefore, that it is a simple amendment that the Government will be able to accept to help provide clarity. Before I explain the rationale behind the amendment, I should like to comment on the importance of safe and legal routes. Since the pandemic, and following the end of the vulnerable persons resettlement scheme, I have despaired as I have witnessed the breakdown of our contribution to global efforts to support refugees to find sanctuary. 

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Illegal Migration Bill: Bishop of Durham supports citizenship amendment on behalf of the Bishop of St Albans

On 12th June 2023, during a committee debate on the Illegal Migration Bill, the Bishop of Durham spoke in support of amendment 98I, tabled by Baroness Brinton and the Bishop of St Albans, which would seek to limit the effects of the bill on those holding or those entitled to British National Overseas Citizenship, with particular reference to people from Hong Kong:

The Lord Bishop of Durham: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, for tabling Amendment 98I, and I thank Amnesty International and the Project for the Registration of Children as British Citizens for their steadfast support for those who wish to register as British citizens. My friend the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans, who added his name, was here earlier in the day but was unable to stay through to the evening.

This amendment aims to tackle a matter of great significance that affects the lives of many individuals residing in the UK under British national overseas visas. They include many people from Hong Kong who are rightly entitled to British citizenship but face serious uncertainty about their legal status. Many Hong Kongers have reported appalling responses from immigration officials regarding their children born here, being told that they cannot have any travel documentation and even querying whether they are allowed to become British citizens in the future.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about British citizen imprisoned in China

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 17th March 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to (1) the government of China, and (2) the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, about British citizen Jimmy Lai.

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