Megan Khoo is Research and Policy Advisor at Hong Kong Watch.
The Conservatives mentioned China four times and Hong Kong twice in their manifesto before Labour scarcely mentioned one of the greatest national security threats to the UK and after the Liberal Democrats became the first party to make its stance on China clear.
Still, the Tories must expand on their proposed China commitments before Labour scrambles to explain exactly how they will address the threat and Reform UK, which trails closely behind in the polls, releases its manifesto on Monday.
In their manifesto, the Conservatives recognise that “China has disregarded universal human rights and its international commitments”, and is the only party that has thus far vowed to maintain visa schemes for the people of Hong Kong.
They also state that they will include China in the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, impose asset freezes and travel bans on those responsible for human rights violations in China, Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang, and support the UK automotive industry which faces “unprecedented competition from China in the electric vehicles market”.
As the party that launched the British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa scheme in 2021 after Beijing imposed the National Security Law on Hong Kong, the Conservatives must not let Labour or any other party outflank them on improving the BNO scheme and protecting the rights of Hong Kongers and other Chinese dissidents in the UK.
In addition to maintaining the status quo of the BNO visa scheme, the Conservatives should expand on their China commitments by explaining how they will act on matters that severely threaten and affect British national security.
This includes closing the gaps in the BNO visa scheme, mapping out a plan for addressing threats to Hong Kongers and other dissidents in the UK, and actually holding Chinese, Hong Kong and other officials accountable for egregious human rights abuses. With 144,000 eligible Hong Kong voters, doing so could make or break the future of the Conservative Party.
As the Party that established the BNO visa scheme, to which there were more than 210,843 applications as of March this year, the Conservatives must pledge to close the gaps that exist within it.
Currently, one of the most noticeable gaps in the scheme is the need to allow the children of BNO passport holders born before 1 July 1997 to apply for the visa scheme independently of their parents. In November 2022, the Conservatives expanded the BNO scheme for those born after 1 July 1997 with at least one BNO-status parent, making this a clear-cut policy ask.
The Tories should also help Hong Kongers who have already arrived in the UK by allowing Hong Kongers to pay home fees at British universities after living in Britain for three years. There is no reason that Hong Kong students should be required to pay international fees as they most likely intend to permanently reside in Britain – the Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers found that 99 per cent of Hong Kongers in the UK intend to stay permanently.
This is a simple ask, and one that was carried out in Scotland in 2023 when the Scottish government announced that free tuition support would be extended to migrant and refugee students who have ‘leave to remain’ and have been in the UK for three years.
The Conservatives should also extend their promised consequences for officials in China, Hong Kong, and similar authoritarian jurisdictions, especially those responsible for acts of transnational repression against those who call the Britain home. While introducing asset freezes and travel bans are a start, officials from China, Hong Kong, and other regimes merit sanctions, which are proven to have a greater effect.
I spend hours every week liaising with Hong Kongers in the UK who continue to be denied over £3 billion worth of their hard-earned retirement savings in the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) due to a lawless act of retaliation from the Hong Kong government after the Conservatives introduced the BNO visa scheme.
The least the Conservatives can do is vow to hit back by speaking with UK-based MPF trustees, HSBC and Standard Chartered, as well as their counterparts in Hong Kong, to release the rightful savings of Hong Kongers which would not only help fund their new lives in Britain, but inject potential billions into the UK economy.
Along with the withholding of Hong Kongers’ savings, there have been malicious cyber attacks against British institutions and government officials, physical attacks against Hong Kongers in Manchester and Southampton, bounties placed on Hong Kongers for advocating for democracy, and other forms of financial, cyber, physical, and mental abuse leveraged by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments to those who have sought safe haven in this country.
These blatant acts of transnational repression, which have happened under a Conservative government, must not go unpunished. The Party must not only pledge to impose asset freezes and travel bans but place sanctions on those responsible, including John Lee, the Hong Kong Chief Executive.
Since the Government has repeatedly recognised the Hong Kong National Security Law of 2020 as being in ‘ongoing breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration’ and condemned the recent passage of Article 23 legislation in Hong Kong, sanctions on Lee are long overdue – and owed to the Hong Kong community in Britain.
The Tories should also review the special privileges of Hong Kong in the UK and international fora. This includes the diplomatic immunities conferred to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London, where an employee was recently charged alongside two other men with “unlawfully assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service and engaging in foreign interference by forcing entry into a British address.”
As the rule of law, state of human rights, and autonomy of Hong Kong continue to decline, the Chinese Communist Party should not be given another mouthpiece or platform of legitimacy in London. The same goes for Shein and other Chinese companies that have been found to be complicit in human rights violations via forced labour.
The Conservatives’ commitment to defend human rights and democracy in the UK is welcome, but tens of thousands of Hong Kongers need the detail on how the Party will carry out their proposed manifesto, and a commitment to go further in the areas outlined above. Individual Conservative MPs should also speak on these issues.
This is just the tip of the iceberg; we have not yet touched on Taiwan, which is not mentioned once in either the Conservative or Labour manifestos, remain. Rishi Sunak should make clear that his government would defend the island should there be an escalation in the Taiwan Strait.
With just three weeks left on the campaign trail, the clock is ticking. Up to 140,000 Hong Konger voters, as well as other dissident communities and those with a keen interest in defending democracy, are watching.
Megan Khoo is Research and Policy Advisor at Hong Kong Watch.
The Conservatives mentioned China four times and Hong Kong twice in their manifesto before Labour scarcely mentioned one of the greatest national security threats to the UK and after the Liberal Democrats became the first party to make its stance on China clear.
Still, the Tories must expand on their proposed China commitments before Labour scrambles to explain exactly how they will address the threat and Reform UK, which trails closely behind in the polls, releases its manifesto on Monday.
In their manifesto, the Conservatives recognise that “China has disregarded universal human rights and its international commitments”, and is the only party that has thus far vowed to maintain visa schemes for the people of Hong Kong.
They also state that they will include China in the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, impose asset freezes and travel bans on those responsible for human rights violations in China, Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang, and support the UK automotive industry which faces “unprecedented competition from China in the electric vehicles market”.
As the party that launched the British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa scheme in 2021 after Beijing imposed the National Security Law on Hong Kong, the Conservatives must not let Labour or any other party outflank them on improving the BNO scheme and protecting the rights of Hong Kongers and other Chinese dissidents in the UK.
In addition to maintaining the status quo of the BNO visa scheme, the Conservatives should expand on their China commitments by explaining how they will act on matters that severely threaten and affect British national security.
This includes closing the gaps in the BNO visa scheme, mapping out a plan for addressing threats to Hong Kongers and other dissidents in the UK, and actually holding Chinese, Hong Kong and other officials accountable for egregious human rights abuses. With 144,000 eligible Hong Kong voters, doing so could make or break the future of the Conservative Party.
As the Party that established the BNO visa scheme, to which there were more than 210,843 applications as of March this year, the Conservatives must pledge to close the gaps that exist within it.
Currently, one of the most noticeable gaps in the scheme is the need to allow the children of BNO passport holders born before 1 July 1997 to apply for the visa scheme independently of their parents. In November 2022, the Conservatives expanded the BNO scheme for those born after 1 July 1997 with at least one BNO-status parent, making this a clear-cut policy ask.
The Tories should also help Hong Kongers who have already arrived in the UK by allowing Hong Kongers to pay home fees at British universities after living in Britain for three years. There is no reason that Hong Kong students should be required to pay international fees as they most likely intend to permanently reside in Britain – the Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers found that 99 per cent of Hong Kongers in the UK intend to stay permanently.
This is a simple ask, and one that was carried out in Scotland in 2023 when the Scottish government announced that free tuition support would be extended to migrant and refugee students who have ‘leave to remain’ and have been in the UK for three years.
The Conservatives should also extend their promised consequences for officials in China, Hong Kong, and similar authoritarian jurisdictions, especially those responsible for acts of transnational repression against those who call the Britain home. While introducing asset freezes and travel bans are a start, officials from China, Hong Kong, and other regimes merit sanctions, which are proven to have a greater effect.
I spend hours every week liaising with Hong Kongers in the UK who continue to be denied over £3 billion worth of their hard-earned retirement savings in the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) due to a lawless act of retaliation from the Hong Kong government after the Conservatives introduced the BNO visa scheme.
The least the Conservatives can do is vow to hit back by speaking with UK-based MPF trustees, HSBC and Standard Chartered, as well as their counterparts in Hong Kong, to release the rightful savings of Hong Kongers which would not only help fund their new lives in Britain, but inject potential billions into the UK economy.
Along with the withholding of Hong Kongers’ savings, there have been malicious cyber attacks against British institutions and government officials, physical attacks against Hong Kongers in Manchester and Southampton, bounties placed on Hong Kongers for advocating for democracy, and other forms of financial, cyber, physical, and mental abuse leveraged by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments to those who have sought safe haven in this country.
These blatant acts of transnational repression, which have happened under a Conservative government, must not go unpunished. The Party must not only pledge to impose asset freezes and travel bans but place sanctions on those responsible, including John Lee, the Hong Kong Chief Executive.
Since the Government has repeatedly recognised the Hong Kong National Security Law of 2020 as being in ‘ongoing breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration’ and condemned the recent passage of Article 23 legislation in Hong Kong, sanctions on Lee are long overdue – and owed to the Hong Kong community in Britain.
The Tories should also review the special privileges of Hong Kong in the UK and international fora. This includes the diplomatic immunities conferred to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London, where an employee was recently charged alongside two other men with “unlawfully assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service and engaging in foreign interference by forcing entry into a British address.”
As the rule of law, state of human rights, and autonomy of Hong Kong continue to decline, the Chinese Communist Party should not be given another mouthpiece or platform of legitimacy in London. The same goes for Shein and other Chinese companies that have been found to be complicit in human rights violations via forced labour.
The Conservatives’ commitment to defend human rights and democracy in the UK is welcome, but tens of thousands of Hong Kongers need the detail on how the Party will carry out their proposed manifesto, and a commitment to go further in the areas outlined above. Individual Conservative MPs should also speak on these issues.
This is just the tip of the iceberg; we have not yet touched on Taiwan, which is not mentioned once in either the Conservative or Labour manifestos, remain. Rishi Sunak should make clear that his government would defend the island should there be an escalation in the Taiwan Strait.
With just three weeks left on the campaign trail, the clock is ticking. Up to 140,000 Hong Konger voters, as well as other dissident communities and those with a keen interest in defending democracy, are watching.