Form a dedicated committee to keep an eye on Hong Kong, politicians and civic groups urge British lawmakers
- Former chief secretary Anson Chan, the Civic Party and a number of civil society groups have made the request
- They say that under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, Britain has a role to play in highlighting encroachments on the city’s freedoms and autonomy
British lawmakers should task a dedicated parliamentary committee with scrutinising any encroachment on Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy, the city’s former No 2 official Anson Chan Fang On-sang and a number of groups have said.
The recommendation was made by the former top official, the Civic Party, the Hong Kong Journalists Association and a coalition of 45 civic rights groups in response to a committee inquiry under the House of Commons.
Since Hong Kong’s handover from British rule to China in July 1997, the British foreign secretary has submitted a written report about Hong Kong to parliament, assessing the latest situation in the autonomous city.
The MPs however do not have a specific committee to regularly debate Hong Kong, although they can raise oral or written questions with officials.
In the United States, aside from a Department of State report, a committee under Congress also scrutinises Hong Kong’s human rights situation in an annual report about China.