MPs discuss BNO issues in Hong Kong Watch Q&A session

As part of Hong Kong Watch’s political and civic engagement series of GLA-funded events, Hong Kong Watch hosted a question and answer session with three parliamentarians from the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties. 

36 Hong Kongers came to Portcullis House in Westminster to hear from Alicia Kearns, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and Conservative MP for Rutland, Catherine West, Shadow Minister for Asia and the Pacific and Labour MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, and Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park.

The event, hosted by Hong Kong Watch co-founder and Chief Executive Benedict Rogers, invited the MPs to share their thoughts on a number of pressing issues faced by the BNO community in the UK. These included security issues around the renewal of HKSAR passports, the ongoing inability of Hong Kongers to access their MPF pension funds, and the ineligibility of BNOs for home fees at UK universities.  

In the course of the Q&A, Hong Kongers were able to raise additional issues they had encountered, from visa restrictions on working as a sports coach to the security risks associated with the outsourcing of visa processing to a non-governmental organisation. 

The parliamentarians in attendance listened to the concerns of the BNO community and encouraged Hong Kongers to write to their local MPs pressing the issues they had raised. 

This event was supported by the Greater London Authority (GLA) as part of Hong Kong Watch’s civic and political education programme, which aims to forge connections within the Hong Kong BNO community and explore the ways they can engage with civic and democratic processes in the UK. This is a strictly cross-party and impartial series.

We would like to thank our guest MPs Alicia Kearns, Catherine West and Sarah Olney for taking the time to speak with Hong Kongers and listen to their concerns. 

香港監察國會議員問答大會順利舉行 BNO港人與跨黨派議員親身交流

香港監察週二在英國國會舉辦公民及政治參與系列下的國會議員問答大會。活動由香港監察共同創辦人兼行政總監羅傑斯（Benedict Rogers）主持，邀得外交事務專責委員會主席、保守黨議員Alicia Kearns MP、影子外交大臣（亞太地區）、工黨議員Catherine West MP和自由民主黨議員Sarah Olney MP擔任嘉賓講者。

36名香港人前來西敏宮參加問答大會，與三位跨黨派國會議員交流。大會邀請議員就BNO社群在英國面對的迫切問題分享想法，其中包括香港特別行政區護照續期引起的安全問題、香港人持續無法提取強積金，以及BNO不符合英國大學本地生學費資格。

參加者在問答環節中提出他們遇到的其他問題，譬如從事體育教練的簽證限制、把簽證處理外判給非政府組織的安全風險等。

出席議員聆聽BNO社群的憂慮，並鼓勵香港人寫信給當地國會議員，表達他們所提出的問題。

今次活動由大倫敦政府（Greater London Authority）支持，是香港監察公民及政治教育系列的一部分。計劃旨在讓香港BNO社群建立連繫，並探索在英國參與公民及民主進程的方式。這是完全跨黨派和中立的活動系列。

香港監察非常感謝國會議員Alicia Kearns MP、Catherine West MP和Sarah Olney MP抽時間與香港人交流並聆聽他們的憂慮。