Six Monthly Report to Parliament on Hong Kong
The British Government published its latest Six-Monthly Report to Parliament on Hong Kong covering developments from July to December 2012.
The report covers a broad range of political, economic and constitutional developments and an overview of UK/Hong Kong bilateral activity over the reporting period.
The Foreign Secretary William Hague writes in his foreword to the report:
The UK Government takes seriously its commitment to Hong Kong under the Sino-British Joint Declaration…..I congratulate the new SAR government on their appointment…I look forward to learning more about the Administration’s plans for constitutional reforms to pave the way for direct elections.
He also writes:
I am pleased that we continue to have regular exchanges across the range of our common interests, including the important co-operation between London and Hong Kong on internationalisation of the RMB; the sporting ties we deepened through the participation of Hong Kong teams in the London 2012 Games; and our interest in supporting Hong Kong’s visionary infrastructure and development projects.
The report concludes that, in general, “One Country, Two Systems” continues to work well in practice and that the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Joint Declaration continue to be upheld.