Lord Patten hosts Hong Kong Watch Annual Dinner in UK Parliament

Yesterday evening, Hong Kong Watch’s Annual Dinner 2025 was successfully held in the British Parliament, with our Patron and the last Governor of Hong Kong, Lord Patten of Barnes, as our host and keynote speaker.

We were pleased to welcome close to 40 guests, including our Patrons Blair McDougall MP and Tom Tugendhat MP, as well as UK parliamentarians Lord Leong, Phil Brickell MP, James Naish MP, Bobby Dean MP, Emily Darlington MP, diplomats from the US and Japan, supporters and other friends of Hong Kong.

Guests were greeted with welcoming remarks from Hong Kong Watch’s co-founder and Chair of Trustees, Aileen Calverley. She reaffirmed Hong Kong Watch’s commitment to the rights and freedom of Hong Kongers and urged our allies to join us in standing with those fleeing from oppression. Our Interim Director, Ed Simpson, reported on the success, impact and finances of our work in the past year.

We also heard from the two new Patrons of Hong Kong Watch, Blair McDougall MP and Tom Tugendhat MP. Marking the fifth anniversary of the imposition of the National Security Law and the introduction of the BNO visa, Blair and Tom both emphasised that the UK must keep its promise to the people of Hong Kong and maintain the 5+1 pathway of the BNO scheme, and stand together with the international community against authoritarian regimes.

This year, we were delighted to hear from Lord Patten as our keynote speaker. Marking the 28th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong, he remarked that Hong Kong’s handover was a “politically and morally hazardous” question for the UK. Lord Patten offered some reflections on the shortcomings of the UK’s negotiations over Hong Kong before the handover, and criticised the current UK government’s proposals to lengthen the time for settled status from five to ten years – if applied to the BNO scheme – as “completely absurd”.

Lord Patten also highlighted the injustice of Jimmy Lai’s solitary confinement, denial of religious rights and lack of consular access as “monstrous” and “appallling”, and urged the Vatican and international governments to speak out for Jimmy Lai and other political prisoners in Hong Kong.

To close his speech, Lord Patten gave his words of encouragement to the Hong Kong diaspora:

“I think the things that you believe in, and the things that Hong Kong has stood for in the past, are more likely to survive than the things that the Chinese Communist Party allegedly stands for. Now, I don’t know what that means for events in the next few months or years, but I think you should stick to your principle, and I hope you will.”

We are grateful to all friends of Hong Kong who shared this special evening with us, and we extend our sincerest gratitude for your support towards our work in defending human rights and freedom for Hong Kong.

彭定康勳爵主持香港監察週年晚宴 斥BNO簽證若變「10+1」完全荒謬 寄語港人堅持信念

昨晚，香港監察2025年度週年晚宴在英國國會順利舉行，活動由香港監察贊助人、前港督彭定康勳爵（Lord Patten of Barnes）主持並發表主題演講。

今次盛會招待了近40位來賓，包括香港監察贊助人麥道國議員（Blair McDougall MP）和董勤達議員（Tom Tugendhat MP），以及英國國會議員Lord Leong、Phil Brickell MP、James Naish MP、Bobby Dean MP、Emily Darlington MP、來自美國和日本的外交官、支持者及其他香港朋友。

在晚宴開端，香港監察共同創辦人兼信託董事會主席Aileen Calverley向來賓致歡迎辭。她重申香港監察對香港人權利和自由的承諾，並促請盟友與我們合力支持逃離壓迫的港人。香港監察臨時總監Ed Simpson匯報了我們過去一年工作的成果、影響和財務狀況。

香港監察兩位新任贊助人麥道國議員和董勤達議員亦有發言。昨天同時為《國家安全法》實施及BNO救生艇計劃推出五週年，麥道國議員和董勤達議員都強調，英國必須信守對香港人的承諾，維持「5+1」BNO簽證政策，並與國際社會合力對抗威權政體。

今年，我們非常榮幸邀請到彭定康勳爵擔任主講嘉賓。昨天為香港主權移交28週年，他致辭時提到，香港主權移交對英國來說是「充滿政治和道德風險」的問題。彭定康勳爵反思英國就香港主權移交談判時的不足之處，並批評現屆英國政府提出將定居途徑從五年延長至十年的建議假若適用於BNO計劃，則屬「完全荒謬」。

彭定康勳爵亦提到，黎智英被單獨囚禁，以及宗教權利和領事探訪權被剝奪是「極其醜惡」和「駭人聽聞」的不公義行為，促請梵蒂岡和各國政府為黎智英及其他香港政治犯發聲。

在演講尾段，彭定康勳爵寄語海外港人：

「我認為你們所相信的事物和香港過去所代表的東西，比中國共產黨聲稱代表的東西更有可能流芳百世。我不知道這對未來幾個月或幾年的事態有甚麼意義，但我認為你們應該堅持自己的原則，而我希望你們能夠做到。」

香港監察非常感謝所有與我們分享這個特別晚宴的香港朋友，並衷心感激你們支持我們捍衛香港人權和自由的工作。