Exclusive | Britain will continue to speak up on Hong Kong and any pressures ‘one, country, two systems’ comes under, consul general vows
Andrew Heyn says British government has an obligation to review the affairs of its former colony
Despite the prospect of criticism, Britain will not give up on closely monitoring developments in Hong Kong and speaking up about pressures it feels the “one country, two systems” concept is under, the nation’s consul general in the city says.
Andrew Heyn said the British government had an ongoing obligation to review the affairs of its former colony while not interfering in the city’s governance.
Last week, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor slammed a British concern group for what she described as “unfair and unfounded” comments in a report on the city’s freedoms and rule of law. Lam criticised Hong Kong Watch for “interfering in Hong Kong’s internal affairs”.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam blasts UK group’s ‘unfounded and unfair’ report on city
Heyn responded in a wide-ranging interview with the Post in which he also spoke about Britain’s influence in the world as it prepared to leave the European Union and the country’s growing ties with Hong Kong.
Among other plans, he revealed that Britain had chosen Hong Kong to be the venue this March of its biggest trade event of the year, the GREAT Festival of Innovation, while a “strategic dialogue” between the two governments to reduce trade barriers and develop joint initiatives was ongoing.
On political matters, the consul general, who took up his post in 2016, said Paddy Ashdown, the veteran British politician who compiled the report, was not a member of the country’s government and his findings should be seen in that context.