Hong Kong has barred a British member of parliament from entering the Chinese territory

[noumoe]

Hong Kong has barred a British member of parliament from entering the Chinese territory, adding uncertainty to UK-China ties just as the Labour government seeks to step up bilateral economic relations.

Wera Hobhouse, a Liberal Democrat MP for Bath and a member of the cross-border Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (Ipac), said she was refused entry upon arrival to Hong Kong this week without specific reasons provided by authorities.

The denial comes as the Labour government seeks to forge closer ties with China. UK chancellor Rachel Reeves and foreign secretary David Lammy have travelled to Beijing in recent months, and Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi was in London in February. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is expected to visit China this year.

Hobhouse’s ejection “appears linked to her criticism of Beijing’s human rights record” and possibly her Ipac membership, the alliance said in a statement on Sunday.

https://archive.is/2025.04.13-041333/ht ... 261ef4e365