Earley and Woodley
Pledge
I pledge to support Hongkongers
in their pursuit of freedom and democracy;
in their settlement and integration in the UK, including the existing BN(O) visa programme and support for Hongkonger asylum seekers facing political repression, and;
in the exercise of their civic rights and freedoms, free from repression, in Britain.
Pauline Jorgensen (Conservative Party): Signed
Statement
Yuan Yang (Labour Party):
Having witnessed firsthand the crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and tightening of free speech in China as a journalist, I stand with Hongkongers who come to the UK in search of vital freedoms. We must do more to ensure that we protect diasporas in the UK from transnational repression and harassment.
I support the BNO visa scheme and support its extension for Hongkongers born after 1997. I also believe we need to act urgently to settle the backlog of asylum cases, including from younger Hongkong activists not currently eligible for the BNO scheme.
As an immigrant myself, I understand the difficulty migrant families face, and believe we should do more to promote integration in the job market, as well as providing better language and counselling support to children in schools. I've already worked with Hongkonger community groups as a journalist, and look forward to continuing to work and advocate for you in future.
Policy questionnaire
Yuan Yang (Labour Party):
1. Tackling transnational repression by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments
I believe transnational repression by authoritarian states is one of the biggest national security threats that we are yet unequipped to deal with. Hong Kongers who have settled in the UK should be defended against intrusion and surveillance, and should be supported in exercising their freedom of speech without fear. I support Vote for Hong Kong’s call for a central agency to tackle transnational repression.
As a former Financial Times journalist, I’ve written groundbreaking news stories about the extent of transnational repression facing Uyghur Muslim and Hong Kong activists in the UK. As a former journalist based in Beijing, my family and I have also been subjected to state surveillance and attempted intimidation, and so I am extremely well-placed to understand this issue.
2. Sanctioning Chinese and Hong Kong government officials responsible for human rights abuses
I oppose the proposal, described in a briefing circulated by David Cameron’s office, to “indefinitely” pause sanctions against Chinese firms accused of human rights abuses. We need to have a consistent policy whenever we decide to take the bold move to sanction foreign officials or foreign companies, and so I support the Labour Party’s proposal for a full audit of the UK-China relationship.
3. Shutting down Confucius Institutes in the UK
Students in British universities have raised concerns over surveillance and influence enacted by Chinese government-linked actors in their campuses. We have to defend campuses against foreign interference, and in particular to defend particularly at-risk students, such as those from the Uyghur, Tibetan, Chinese and Hong Kong diasporas.
There are many things we should do to tackle on-campus interference. We are currently woefully inadequate when it comes to dealing with transnational repression. University staff as well as local police forces need to be properly trained on the topic.
As well as making sure our policing system is well-equipped to deal with transnational repression, we also have to make sure campuses are welcoming to foreign students, providing an attractive counter-offer to Chinese embassy-sponsored events, and creating open, friendly, well-integrated spaces for Chinese students overseas. We should also advance Chinese language education, including in the Cantonese language, outside of Confucius Institutes to build up that attractive counter-offer.
4. Assisting Hong Kong immigrants in retrieving their Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF)
The Chinese government’s decision to withhold Mandatory Provident Fund payments from Hong Kongers in Britain is purely retaliatory. It holds hostage the economic security of tens of thousands of people. The British government should scrutinise banks operating here, in particular HSBC, and question them on why they have not granted Hong Kongers the pension contributions that they are owed.
5. Assisting Hong Kong immigrants in finding jobs commensurate with their work experience
Ensuring everyone has access to well-paying, good work is a core tenet of the Labour Party’s economic mission. I know personally, from my own family’s experience of immigration to the UK in the early 1990s, that it is tremendously difficult for new arrivals to find work commensurate with their skills. I’ve spoken to local Hong Kongers in Reading as well as to national Hong Kong community groups about forming policy to improve this. A lack of UK work experience is often cited by Hong Kongers as a barrier, but it should not remain so.
The Labour Party is committed to reforming the broken system of apprenticeships, to help people get on the first rung of the ladder of work experience. Companies should report data on hiring by ethnicity, so any discrimination or bias in their hiring practices can be seen and addressed. Businesses will benefit from extending opportunities to the many talented and educated workers who are arriving in our country.
We should also work with professional standard-setting bodies to better translate qualifications gained in Hong Kong to British-recognised qualifications, so that we can better absorb the diverse skills of new arrivals.
And finally, we should support the entrepreneurial spirit of Hong Kongers through lowering the barriers to gaining credit for newcomers, and supporting the small and medium-sized enterprises that are the engine of local economies.
Getting our economy back on track is the most fundamental thing the Labour Party plans to achieve to enable all of these aspirations. We have had over a decade of wage and growth stagnation under the current government and we desperately need a fresh start for our economy.
6. Improving NHS services and reducing crimes in local communities
Doctors and nurses have told me that the NHS was at peak performance when the last Labour government left office in 2010. But after fourteen years of underinvestment in our healthcare system, waiting lists are at record lengths.
The Labour Party built the NHS and will always back the NHS. Reforming the NHS is one of our five national missions. We will do this through providing more diagnostic and preventative care in the community, to catch illnesses early and make our system smarter and more efficient. We’ll also extend out-of-hours capacity in GP surgeries to cut down the backlog. Finally, our focus on mental health, and providing counseling in schools, will support young people going through difficult transitions, including the challenge of moving to a new neighborhood.
Neighbourhood police patrols, too, have been cut after over a decade of austerity in local services. The government’s decision in 2014 to not prosecute shoplifting of amounts under £200 has led to increasing levels of crime on high streets. Labour would bring back neighbourhood police patrols.
Finally, much of our current wave of crime is also a result of the cost of living crisis and the deepening poverty in our society. We need a change of government and a Labour Party that can return us to sensible economic governance and a fairer, better economy for all.
You can see a full list of all the candidates for the Earley and Woodley constituency here.
Last updated: 25/6/2024