Commenting on Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to China – the first by a British prime minister since 2018 – Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UK’s Interim Chief Executive, said:

“The Prime Minister must put the protection of people’s human rights in China, Hong Kong, and of the diaspora communities in the UK, at the very top of his agenda and must not sacrifice human rights for business and security deals. Human rights cannot be treated as a bargaining chip.

“This rare, high-level visit is a moment of real consequence, and the UK government must use it to deliver a clear, public and uncompromising condemnation of Beijing’s brutal human rights record – from the violent and systematic repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, to the destruction of freedoms in Hong Kong, and the export of  intimidation, harassment and surveillance of activists, refugees, and students living here in the UK.

“The UK government’s approval of China’s so-called ‘super-embassy’ has sent a deeply troubling signal to diaspora communities in the UK, increasing their fear of harassment and surveillance by the Chinese state.

“Keir Starmer must publicly and unequivocally guarantee that the UK will defend these communities’ rights to freedom of expression and protest and that transnational repression will not be tolerated on British soil. He needs to outline how the Government is monitoring this abuse and what concrete protections it is putting in place to keep these communities safe.

“The Prime Minister must also clearly and publicly demand the immediate release of unjustly detained Chinese, Hong Kong and Uyghur activists , including human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng, MeToo activist Sophia Huang Xueqin, Uyghur scholar Ilham Tohti, British national Jimmy Lai and lawyer-activist Chow Hang-tung.

“If this visit is to mean anything, it must show that the UK will not stay silent in the face of repression, no matter how powerful the perpetrator.” 

Long arm of Chinese state repression  

The long arm of Chinese state repression has meant that Chinese and Hong Kong communities in the UK as well as across Europe and North America have suffered threats and intimidation from the authorities as part of a deeply alarming pattern of transnational repression. In China, the Government routinely targets peaceful critics through pervasive online censorship, arbitrary arrest, detention and torture to silence dissent. Human rights defenders, pro-democracy activists and religious leaders and practitioners have been among those subjected to relentless and systematic persecution. Meanwhile, the widespread repression of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet has continued despite overwhelming international criticism. 

In Hong Kong, journalists, broadcasters and book publishers have been among those prosecuted and imprisoned under the territory’s notorious National Security Law and other repressive legislation, while civil society organisations both in Hong Kong and abroad have faced criminal charges, harassment or even had bounties placed on their heads for their legitimate activities.