Here’s a quick catch up on the Isle of Wight MP, Robert Seely’s recent coverage on the situation in Hong Kong.
Last weekend the MP flew to Hong Kong for two days during the fifth anniversary of the Umbrella Movement, as a guest of Stand With Hong Kong, that he describes as “a group of democracy activists”.
He sent out a number of Tweets from there, with his first being:
“In #HongKong this weekend to see for myself the democracy protests. Torrential rain not putting off big crowds. Thus far a responsible police presence. However, some concerning arrests of individuals yesterday.”
This Tweet got a lot of support for people who appear to be in Hong Kong, or supporting people there, with 25 replies, 86 Retweets and 185 likes. His other Tweets in Hong Kong also proved very popular with those supporting the protesting residents of Hong Kong.
Newspaper article
He published an opinion piece in The Telegraph on Sunday (1st Sept) that opened:
“It felt apt to spend the fifth anniversary of the Umbrella Movement under a brolly in the humid thunder storms in Hong Kong observing thousands of residents here, protesting against Beijing as well as their local authorities and in defence of civil rights.”
In it he presented his view of two visions for humanity:
“The first is the ‘Western’ liberal model of a law-governed society, universal rights and limited Government.
The second is the new authoritarian model championed by China, Russia and other states where freedoms are more curtailed, politicians above the law and where surveillance – aided by big data and Artificial Intelligence – will become ubiquitous.”
Radio appearance
He was also popped up on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme to speak on the same subject
In the House of Commons
Yesterday (Tuesday) in the House of Commons, before the ‘stop a No Deal Brexit’ debate, Bob was on his feet speaking about his trip, posing a question to the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab:
Mr Bob Seely (Isle of Wight) (Con):
I declare that this weekend I went to Hong Kong as a guest of a group of democracy activists to witness the overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrations.
Does the Foreign Secretary agree that the fundamental problem is that there are people fighting for their rights under the two systems, one country model, when the authoritarian state China wishes to replace that model with the one system, one country model?
Dominic Raab:
My hon. Friend is very knowledgeable in this area and I respect the fact that he has huge expertise. It is not clear, in truth, what the position in Beijing is. Actually, if we look at all its public statements, we see that it sticks and adheres to the position of one country, two systems. That provides the model that can resolve this situation, but we need to have respect for the lawful right of protest. We need to have stepping stones to build confidence towards a track of political dialogue. That is the route through the current situation and to avoid it escalating any further.
