Hong Kong Watch Announces New Fellows Programme
Hong Kong Watch is pleased to announce a new programme of “Fellows” to enhance and expand its capacity, and the appointment of the first three Hong Kong Watch Fellows: Luke de Pulford, Sophie Lyddon and Dr Stephen Ng MBE.
Luke de Pulford is currently the Director of the Arise Foundation, founder of the Coalition for Genocide Response and a member of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission. He visited Hong Kong in November as a member of the international independent Election Observation Mission to monitor the district council elections, and has been active in campaigning for Hong Kong in recent months.
Sophie Lyddon is the Brexit and Foreign Affairs Adviser to the Liberal Democrats. During her undergraduate degree, Sophie briefly attended Chengdu University in Sichuan, where she developed a keen interest in China and its shifting place in the world. Sophie has a longstanding affinity for Hong Kong, having stayed with a local family in the city following her time in Chengdu. For her Master’s degree at the University of Cambridge, Sophie explored issues of democracy and human rights in the region, focusing on household domestic workers.
Dr Stephen Ng was born and bred in Hong Kong. After graduation from Hong Kong University, he worked as a community worker, script writer, housing officer and arts administrator. On arrival in the UK in 1990 he cultivated an ever-supportive Chinese community that is well integrated in wider UK society. He also co-founded Chinese for Labour in 1999 promoting Labour Party values, civic conscience and duties. In recognition of his devotion to the UK Chinese community he received an Outstanding Contribution to Community Volunteering Award in 2005, and was awarded a MBE in 2012 and The Golden Chopsticks Award in 2019.
Fellows of Hong Kong Watch will work with the organisation in an entirely voluntary capacity to contribute to in-depth research, advocacy and fundraising. Fellows will be appointed from entirely cross-party or non-affiliated political backgrounds, and will work with Hong Kong Watch in a bi-partisan independent way to advocate in the British and other political arenas to secure policy changes in response to the crisis in Hong Kong.
Luke de Pulford said: “I am honoured and delighted to be a Fellow of Hong Kong Watch, an organisation which in just two years since it was founded has made an extraordinarily significant impact in educating and awakening policy-makers to the unfolding crisis in Hong Kong. Long before the escalation in the crisis this year Hong Kong Watch was sounding the alarm when few others were, and their in-depth research and advocacy has played a vital role in mobilizing Parliamentarians and policy-makers in Britain and around the world. . The name of the organisation is apt. The world is watching Hong Kong and will not stand idly by as its autonomy and way of life is diminished. I look forward to working with Hong Kong Watch to expand this important work at this critical time.”
Sophie Lyddon said: “It is a great privilege to join the Hong Kong Watch team as a Fellow, to strengthen their capacity and influence and further the cause of freedom and human rights for the people of Hong Kong. Having stayed with a family in Hong Kong, I care deeply about protecting its way of life and autonomy, and am inspired by the extraordinary courage and determination of the people of Hong Kong to whom Britain has a real responsibility.”
Stephen Ng said: “As a Hong Konger I have deeply appreciated the work of Hong Kong Watch over the past two years, and am very excited to work with them in a more official capacity as a Fellow, in order to defend the freedoms of my fellow Hong Kongers. I look forward to working on a cross-party basis with the team and to mobilizing support within the Labour Party for this cause.”
Benedict Rogers, co-founder and Chair of Hong Kong Watch said: “We are excited to announce this new programme and delighted to welcome our first three Fellows, from three different political party backgrounds, who will help us be even more effective in our advocacy for the people of Hong Kong.”
Hong Kong Watch is an entirely bi-partisan independent advocacy organization with trustees, Patrons and supporters from a wide range of political backgrounds. Our Patrons include the former Labour Shadow Minister of State for Asia Catherine West, the Liberal Democrat Alistair Carmichael, the independent cross-bench peer Lord Alton of Liverpool, the former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind and the barrister Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, and one of our founding Patrons was the former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown. Hong Kong Watch was launched on 11 December 2017 at a reception hosted by the then Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, in Speaker’s House, London.