Handover of Hong Kong

• Thanks to our customers, the Hong Kong Government, and the airport authorities, today, we reach a new goal in our 86-year history.
• Hong Kong becomes the sixth destination we have operated in the Asian continent, and the longest flight we have served.
• Stephen Phillips,Director-GeneralofInvestment PromotionatInvest Hong Kong, said: It is very exciting to see Aeromexicos new direct freight route between Hong Kong and Mexico come into operation today.
• I wish Aeromexico business every success in Hong Kong and beyond."

British National (Overseas) status was created for people who lost their British Dependent Territories Citizenship upon the handover of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997. The government has responded to recent developments in Hong Kong by signalling a readiness to extend immigration options for people with British National (Overseas) status.

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• The Library briefings on Hong Kong: the Joint Declaration and Hong Kong in 2019 might also be of interest.
• The British National (Overseas) BN(O) status was created as part of the arrangements relating to the handover of sovereignty of Hong Kong on 1 July 1997.
• It caters for people who, prior to the handover, had British Dependent Territories Citizenship (BDTC) through a connection with Hong Kong.
• However, in the ten years leading up to the handover, they could apply for the newly created BN(O) status.
• Although there was an entitlement to be registered, BN(O) status was not conferred automatically.
• They have argued that to do so would risk undermining the commitments made under the UK-China Joint Declaration on Hong Kong.
• One of these, the Hong Kong Citizenship Selection Scheme, enabled 50,000 heads of household (and their dependants) to acquire British citizenship.
• Some veterans of the Hong Kong Military Service and Hong Kong Royal Naval Service consider that they were unfairly denied citizenship through the Scheme.
• Since 2016, the Home Office has been considering representations made on their behalf for British citizenship or the right of abode.

• The letter states that for Beijing to impose the Security Law, without the direct participation of its people, legislature or judiciary, is a breach of the legally binding agreement between the UK and China which ensures that rights and freedoms will be protected by law in Hong Kong.
• The letter which will be sent to the Prime Ministers of each of the four countries and jointly to the Secretary General of the United Nations asks for their active collaboration in order to establish a United Nations Special Envoy for Hong Kong.
• We cannot allow this to happen, which is why myself and my counterparts are asking our leaders and the Secretary General of the United Nations for the establishment of a Special Envoy for Hong Kong.
• This is why we must move rapidly to ensure there is a system in place for the observation and transparent reporting of the true impact this new law will have on currently legal freedoms in Hong Kong.

House of Commons Library

Hong Kong: the Joint Declaration

The UK Government’s response to the recent protests in Hong Kong has drawn attention to the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. This briefing paper explores what the Declaration is and concerns about its status.

How did the Declaration come about?

• British rule over Hong Kong dates to the 19th century, when Hong Kong island was cededto Great Britain by China after the first Opium War in 1842.
• Further territory was added after the second Opium War and in 1898, when Great Britain obtained the New Territories on a 99-year lease.
• On 19 December 1984 the UK Government and the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) signed The Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong.On 1 July 1997 the UK transferred sovereignty over Hong Kong to thePRC.

"One country, Two systems": what does the Joint Declaration say?

The principle ‘One country, Two systems’ underpins the Declaration although the term is not explicitly used in the Declaration. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) will be directly under the authority of the People’s Republic of China but will enjoy a “high degree of autonomy” and its social and economic systems and lifestyle will remain unchanged for fifty years.

Is the declaration legally binding?

• TheUK Government is clear that the Joint Declarationis a legally binding treaty, registered with the United Nations, which continues to remain in force.Itremains as valid today as it did when it was signed over thirty years ago.
• The Foreign Secretary reaffirmed this on the 22nd anniversary of the handover when he declared the UKs commitment to the Declaration as unwavering.
• Since 1997 the Foreign Secretary has reported to Parliament at six-monthly intervals on the implementation of the Joint Declaration.

China challenges the status of the Joint Declaration

• Chinese officials have, in recent years, challenged the status of the Joint Declaration.
• TheForeign Affairs Committee noted comments by Chinese Foreign Ministry officials in 2017 suggesting the arrangements under the Joint Declaration are now history and described it as ridiculous for the UK to pose itself as a supervisor on Hong Kong affairs.
• This view was repeated more recently following UK Government concerns about the police response to protests in June-July 2019.
• Our clear view is that the Sino-British joint declaration of 1984 obliges the Chinese Government to uphold Hong Kongs high degree of autonomy, and its rights and freedoms, and we call on the Chinese Government to do so.
• The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, to which both the UK and China are States Parties, provides only for the suspension of the operation of a treaty in the event that it is breached.
• The UK Government has assessed there has been one serious breach of the Joint Declaration.
• This was in 2015 and relates to the involuntary removal British citizen and Hong Kong bookseller Lee Po from Hong Kong to mainland China.

'One country, one system?': Concerns about Hong Kong's autonomy

• The protests against the extradition bill in June and July 2019 reflect fears that Hong Kong's autonomy and freedoms are at risk.
• These have been catelogued by the UK Government in its six-monhtly reports to Parliament.
• In 2017 the FCO reported "Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy is under increasing pressure".
• Commentators have alsocommented on theerosion of political and media liberties in Hong Kong.

The extradition law protests

• OnSunday 9 Juneprotestors took to the streets of Hong Kong to oppose a draft amendment to extradition laws.
• The law would allow the extradition of individuals from Hong Kong to mainland China.
• Critics fear the law would enable the Chinese government to pursue political opponents.
• On2 Julyprotestors broke into the Parliamentary building, the LegCo, and draped a colonial-era Hong Kong flag on the podium.