York Outer

Statement

Luke Charters (Labour Party):

Labour celebrates the significant contribution that the Hong Kong community makes to the UK.

The issuing of arrest warrants for Hong Kong nationals in the UK, is a further demonstration of the deteriorating level of freedom in Hong Kong and a symbol of the Chinese government’s intentions to intimidate those who seek to defend Hong Kong’s freedoms.

Labour have been clear that we would hold the Chinese authorities to account, support those in need in Hong Kong and fully support the integration of Hong Kong BN(O) community to build their lives here in Britain including supporting a clear pathway to citizenship.

We led calls for the expansion of the British National (Overseas) visa scheme to include a pathway to citizenship and have latterly called for the scheme to be opened up to younger Hong Kongers not previously eligible.

On transnational aggression:

Since the increased crackdown on human rights and civil liberties in Hong Kong began, Labour has called for more strident action from the UK Government to both hold the Chinese authorities to account and to support those in need in Hong Kong.

We led calls for the expansion of the British National (Overseas) visa scheme to be opened up to younger Hong Kongers not previously eligible.

While China continues to violate the internationally recognised Sino-British agreement, and further erodes hon’s promised freedoms, there will be a need to support Hong Kongers both here and in Hong Kong itself. Labour fully supports these moves and have argued for there to be further action from the Government.

China has criticised the actions of the British Government in expanding the BN(O) passport/visa scheme, accusing the British Government of interfering in their “internal affairs.”

I hope that the above gives you some comfort over Labour’s policy on this worrying issue. If Luke is elected I am sure he would be delighted to meet you to understand better the issues faced by the Hong Kong community at this difficult time.

Luke is fighting for every vote in this extremely close election, and has received support from the former Green Parliamentary candidate, former Lib Dem councillors, and former Conservative voters.

Luke wants to be a hardworking, local Labour MP for York Outer. We hope you will lend him your support.

Andrew Hollyer (Liberal Democrats):

The Liberal Democrats have been steadfast in our opposition to the persecution of Hong Kongers. We have always stood up for the values of democracy, liberty, human rights and the rule of law.

Specifically on Hong Kong we have promised in our manifesto to:

• Continuing to fight for British National (Overseas) passport holders’ rights by closing gaps in the BNO visa scheme.

• Extending BNO integration funding for Hong Kongers in the UK for the duration of the Parliament.

Michael Kearney (Green Party):

Thank you for alerting me to the challenges that are faced by Hong Kongers living in Britian and the difficulties and threats they face from the actions of the Chinese (and Hong Kong) government. This is an area that I have only limited knowledge about and your message has prompted me to find out a bit more.

In principle, I have no difficulty in supporting calls to tackle transnational repression by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments, use sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong government officials responsible for human rights abuses, improving NHS services and reducing crimes in local communities, assisting Hong Kong immigrants in retrieving their Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF - i.e. pension rights), or assisting Hong Kong immigrants in finding jobs commensurate with their work experience.

At the moment, I do not know enough about international educational and research links between the UK and China and I am reluctant to sign a pledge regarding the Confucius Institutes before I fully understand the context and the implications of any such actions.

If I am elected, I would be very glad to meet with you to find out more about the concerns of the Hong Konger community in York, and to discuss these wider international policy issues.

You can see a full list of all the candidates for the York Outer constituency here.

Last updated: 24/6/2024