News story

FCDO statement: démarche of Chinese Ambassador on Hong Kong

At the Foreign Secretary’s instruction his senior official conducted a formal diplomatic démarche of the Chinese Ambassador

As the Minister for the Indo-Pacific stated in Parliament yesterday, on 13 July a senior official conducted a formal diplomatic démarche of the Chinese Ambassador at the instruction of the Foreign Secretary.

An FCDO spokesperson said:

“The démarche set out our objections to actions in Hong Kong in recent weeks, including the issuing of arrest warrants and bounties for eight individuals living overseas, three of whom live in the UK, and the detention and questioning of the family members of some of those individuals in Hong Kong.

“The démarche also set out our ongoing opposition to the imposition of the National Security Law by Beijing on Hong Kong, which is a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.”

Background Information

  • It is standard practice for almost all démarches to be conducted by senior officials.
Published 15 July 2023