Platform to Support Hongkongers in the UK Launched Together With Labour Party

Delegates attend the first day of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, England, on Sept. 22, 2024. Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

A new organization aimed at linking the British Labour Party with Hongkongers living in the UK was launched at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool on Sept. 24.

The group, called Labour Friends of Hong Kong, will serve as a platform for Labour Party members and parliamentarians to express their support for Hong Kong nationals who have settled in the UK.

Founded by Alyssa Fong, public affairs and advocacy manager of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, the group aims to act as a bridge between the Labour Party and the Hong Kong community in the UK. Fong emphasized the organization’s goal of demonstrating the Party’s solidarity with the people of Hong Kong and keeping Hong Kong issues in the public eye.

Quoting Lord Sumption, a former British non-permanent judge in Hong Kong, “The rule of law is dead in Hong Kong,” Fong stressed that the British government should not treat the situation in Hong Kong as business as usual and should listen to the voices of Hongkongers, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and the Chinese diaspora.

She also said that working with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was not a “viable option,” criticizing the relationship as one-sided. “It’s never mutually beneficial as they say—it’s always take, and take over,” she said.

Neil Coyle, Labour MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark and co-chair of the group, helped launch the organization. Speaking at the launch, Coyle said that the organization was set up because of concerns about the current situation in Hong Kong, where human rights such as freedom of the press and freedom of speech are being curtailed, as well as issues faced by Hongkongers who have come to live in the UK.

He said that out of responsibility to Hong Kong, Britain has accepted 200,000 Hongkongers under the British National (Overseas) Scheme, some of whom have moved to his constituency. He stressed the importance of ensuring that they have a “positive, welcoming” experience when settling in the UK, with access to health care and education.

However, Coyle pointed out that despite their resettlement, some Hongkongers continue to face harassment from the CCP on British soil. He said the British government must make it clear to China that such actions are unacceptable.

The harassment includes online attacks such as email interception, private information hacking, and personal finance interference. Coyle added that Labour is currently reviewing “how the Chinese government is trying to influence and what the Chinese government is trying to influence within the UK” at the business, academic, and governmental levels.

“The one-way relationship is over,” he said, calling for greater regulation of the UK’s relationship with China.