Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for meeting China’s president Xi Jinping just hours before 45 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were sentenced for attempting to field opposition candidates in an election.
Among those sentenced were Benny Tai, who was jailed for 10 years and Joshua Wong, sentenced to four years, for “subversion” after being involved in the “Hong Kong 47” group of activists and lawmakers.
The imprisonments were the largest use of the authoritarian National Security Law brought in to clamp down on democracy in Hong Kong in 2019.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, former chair of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong, Emily Lau, suggested Sir Keir’s meeting with Xi at the G20 a mere hours before the sentencing meant the UK’s agreements with China over the governance of the territory before its handover in 1997 were “evaporating”.
Ms Lau said she “not surprised” by the sentences.
“We are very distressed and their families of course are devastated,” she said.
“We hoped that maybe Hong Kong was ready to turn a new page....but alas we had the sentencing this morning. We are very distressed.”
Taking aim at the prime minister: “Of course yesterday I saw on television the British prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, was meeting Chinese president Xi Jinping in Rio at the G20 meeting.
“I don’t know. I’m not against people making money but I certainly hope that the British government, the prime minister, will stand up for the rights that they promised Hong Kong people in the 1984 Sino-British joint declaration.
“It seems all these rights, rule of law and all that are evaporating.”
Democracy activist Nathan Law said Sir Keir’s meeting with the Chinese premier looked “embarassing”. Speaking to Times Radio, he said: “The current Labour government tries to soften the relationship with China, probably for the purpose of economic ties but from history we have come to consensus that if you are just trying to please China, it will bite you, basically abuse your trust and support and commit more and more human rights abuses.
“So I do think that that was quite an embarrassing meeting, especially in the time where these democratic activists are going to be jailed for up to 10 years.”
Downing Street said that the prime minister raised the case of another jailed pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai in a landmark meeting with Xi Jinping on Monday, signalling he is prepared to challenge China over human rights abuses.
However, the meeting at the G20 was supposed to mark a “pragamatic” approach to China which is the second largest economy in the world in an effort to build trade.
The prime minister even discussed a visit to Beijing or Xi to come to London.
Sir Keir was the first British prime minister to meet the Chinese president since David Cameron eight years ago.
The prime minister said he wanted to engage with China “honestly and frankly on those areas where we have different perspectives”, as well as signalling a desire for greater business co-operation.
He said a strong UK-China relationship is “important for both of our countries” and the international community, proposing a full UK-China meeting in London or Beijing.
Foreign secretary David Lammy visited China in October and pledged that the government would bring consistency to the UK’s relations with the country, as well as suggesting that there had not been sufficient contact between London and Beijing under his predecessors, particularly on human rights issues.
