UK Foreign Office publishes latest six-monthly report on Hong Kong

Today, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has published the latest Six-Monthly Report on Hong Kong, covering developments in Hong Kong from 1 January to 30 June 2026.

The report explicitly highlights Hong Kong’s continued integration into the national development priorities of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), citing the publication of Hong Kong’s first Five-Year Plan and a White Paper on safeguarding national security in Hong Kong by the State Council of the PRC.

It also details the expansion of national security legislation and the prosecution of Hong Kong political prisoners under national security charges, including the 20-year sentence received by British citizen Jimmy Lai, and the trials of Chow Hang-tung and Joshua Wong.

In the report, the Foreign Secretary acknowledged concerns about the “expanding scope and application of national security legislation in Hong Kong and its increasing impact on freedom of expression, assembly, association and the press”, but maintained that “Hong Kong’s economic, monetary, and financial systems remained distinct from the mainland.”

Megan Khoo, Policy Director at Hong Kong Watch, said:

“Despite the UK government’s recognition of China’s ongoing non-compliance with the Joint Declaration, we remain concerned that the latest six-monthly report maintains that Hong Kong retains legal and financial autonomy.

Under the continued expansion of the national security apparatus in Hong Kong and its accelerated integration into China’s national development interests, this assessment severely underestimates the ongoing erosion of rule of law and basic freedoms, which goes far beyond Hong Kong’s media environment, education system and civil society.

We urge the UK government to take into account the broadening roles of national security legislation in Hong Kong, and assess the risks on Hong Kong’s business environment and its status as an international financial hub.”

Photo: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons