MPs are pressing for an emergency Commons debate after China warned it would block a British parliamentary fact-finding mission to Hong Kong.
Published: 10:50, Mon, Dec 1, 2014By: MAX EVANS
Sir Richard Ottaway (left) has called for an urgent Commons debate on Hong Kong
The Chinese government are acting in an overtly confrontational manner in refusing us access to do our job
Sir Richard Ottaway, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee
Amid fresh clashes between authorities and pro-democracy protesters in the former British colony, China said a Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) group planning to visit Hong Kong would be "refused entry".
The committee was to visit Hong Kong as part of an inquiry into its relations with the UK, 30 years after the joint declaration that led to the handover to China in 1997.
But the probe has raised hackles in Beijing, with the committee's Chinese counterpart condemning it as a "highly inappropriate act which constitutes interference in China's internal affairs".
The Foreign Office said the decision to deny the MPs access to Hong Kong was "regrettable" and that it had made its view known to the Chinese authorities at "the most senior levels".
The move comes as police in Hong Kong arrested 40 pro-democracy demonstrators in the latest face-off between the authorities and the protest movement, which began in late September.
Police and bailiffs face down protesters in Mong Kok district
Sir Richard Ottaway, chairman of the FAC, accused the Chinese authorities of acting in an "overtly confrontational manner" by blocking the visit and said that he would be asking Commons Speaker John Bercow for an emergency debate.
"I have been informed by the Chinese embassy that if we attempt to travel to Hong Kong we will be refused entry," he said.
"We are a committee of elected Members of Parliament from a democratic nation who wish to scrutinise British diplomatic work in Hong Kong.
"The Chinese government are acting in an overtly confrontational manner in refusing us access to do our job."
A Foreign Office (FCO) spokesman said: "The Foreign Affairs Select Committee is independent of the UK Government and is responsible for determining its own programme of inquiries.
Baton-wileding police drive back protesters during a recent skirmish
"However, the Chinese government's message to the FAC that they will be refused entry into Hong Kong is regrettable.
"It is not consistent with the positive trend in UK-China relations over the past year, including the recognition during Premier Li's visit to London in June that the UK and China have considerable shared interests in respect of Hong Kong.
"Nor is it in the spirit of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, concluded 30 years ago. The FCO has signalled this position to the Chinese at the most senior levels."
After announcing the inquiry, the committee was sent a strongly-worded written protest letter by its Beijing counterpart, which warned it would have "a negative impact on the relations between our countries".
"Bear in mind the larger picture of China-UK relations and Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, stop interfering in Hong Kong's affairs and cancel the inquiry on UK-Hong Kong relations," it said.
Sir Richard Ottaway says China is acting 'in an overtly confrontational manner'
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond met the Chinese ambassador in October, after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg summoned the top diplomat to express the UK's "alarm and dismay" over the treatment of protesters.
But ministers were accused by Lord Chris Patten — who was the UK's last governor of Hong Kong and oversaw the 1997 handover of the territory — of failing to speak out sufficiently strongly in public for fear of jeopardising trade deals.
He said it was wrong to leave it to the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee to deal with "a really important issue touching on British sovereignty, British honour and other things".
"There has always been quite a strong group in Government and the business community that believes you can only do business with China if you carefully avoid in all circumstances treading on China's toes or saying anything the Chinese disagree with," he told the inquiry.
"I don't believe that's true. The reasons why we don't sell more to China at the moment, though the figures are getting better, is we don't manufacture as many things that the Chinese want to buy as the Germans or even the French."
Refusing to publicly criticise Beijing "encourages China to behave badly", he said.
The Hong Kong protests were sparked by the announcement of plans to reform voting so that the general public would be largely disallowed from much of the electoral process – with Beijing handpicking candidates to compete for the role of Hong Kong's new chief executive.
Protesters, including those from the Occupy movement, have gathered outside government buildings since the end of September.
Hundreds of demonstrators entered the forecourt of the Central Government Complex — a former public space which has been barred from public entry since July 2014 — during numerous clashes with the police.
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