The 2019 General Election Liberal Democrats manifesto calls for standing to a peaceful world; not only because this is our value, but also everyone deserves a better world. When we jointly face challenges in our support for liberal democracies, stable partnerships are often fostered. One such alliance calls for “Honouring our legal and moral duty to the people of Hong Kong by reopening the British National Overseas Passport offer, extending the scheme to provide the right to abode to all holders”. Nonetheless, do words suffice in supporting the civilians in Hong Kong who are among those standing in defiance of brutal dictatorships?

Since the 2019 autumn conference, the situation in Hong Kong deteriorated substantially. By the end of December 2019, more than 7000 protesters had been arrested according to the figures from Hong Kong Police Force. For all that, it did not include those who disappeared after arrests, or those being transported to Mainland China. Two thirds of those arrested were between eleven to twenty five years old, and half of them were students. Some who were reported to have disappeared were later found dead under suspicious circumstances. New York Times investigations revealed police tactics on the day nearly caused a mass stampede as police deployed tear gas without warning, cornering civilians into a dead end. Demonstrators in that incident adverted mass injuries by shattering glass and forcibly entering an office building for refuge.

Lord Patten, former governor of Hong Kong, recently reminded there persists indiscriminate arrests. This affects both the protection and welfare of the populace. This comes back to the question of policing by consent. When Sir Robert Peel pushed for the establishment of a professional police force in England – which became the Metropolitan Police, politicians took extended lengths to establish the concept of ‘policing with consent’. The selection and their code of conduct were strict, the Peelers stood out in public and, more importantly, as a symbol of being accepted to patrol the law, they were unarmed.

Britain is a joint signatory to the Sino-British Joint Declaration; therefore, we have a duty to protect the well-being of the people of Hong Kong. We are facing uncertainty after Brexit, but it is the time to show the world that the United Kingdom will still be the model of Western Democracy.

Through the efforts of our party members, there will be an International Affairs and Defence motion on Hong Kong during the Liberal Democrats Spring Conference in York in March this year. It reads as:

• Granting BN(O) holders the right to abode and reopening the applications of the nationality
• Forbid UK manufacturers to supply equipment for HK police to suppress the protest movement by suspending the export licenses
• UK government should use its diplomatic and economic power to pressure the Chinese government not to suppress the HK protest movement by mobilising its military force

It is a small step, but it will bring hope to those who suffered in Hong Kong, particularly when they cannot see where lights laid ahead of them. We should, therefore, proceed to actions to achieve our commitments.

* Larry is an elected representative in the Federal International Relations Committee and the ‘Against Authoritarianism’ sub-committee. He also chairs the Liberal Democrats Friends of Hong Kong.