argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for his remarks; I know that he follows these issues closely. I am going to be a bit careful about commenting on what is really happening in relation to intelligence services from any other country, but one thing I would say is that it is becoming increasingly clear, in relation to some of the counter-protests, that there are criminal gangs involved, and it is not clear entirely what their links may or may not be with the various administrations. I think, for our part, we need to play this in a very straight way, which is to say that there are some legally binding obligations on the Hong Kong Government, and indeed on China, to respect peaceful protest. Frankly, wherever those incursions or erosions or impingements come, we will call them out.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: Law and Crime
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman. Of course, one of the reasons that we might take a judgment in relation to Hong Kong, or anywhere in the world, to provide police training is precisely to make sure that policing is done in a proportionate way, and with some restraint where that is called for. So I would not quite accept the premise that he has argued from.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): We will constantly consider all assessments in relation to this kind of support. The hon. Gentleman will know that, as the former Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), stated during his remarks in the House of Commons on 25 June in relation to, for example, crowd control equipment, no further export licences will be granted for that kind of equipment unless we have got absolutely clear assurances that our concerns around human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected and addressed.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend. He raises a very important point, which is that the protests that we are seeing have been fuelled by the economic/social concerns that, in any mature democracy, would find expression through the democratic institutions. I think he is highlighting, in a very specific way, why having political dialogue leading to the democratic autonomy that is reflected in the Basic Law would be valuable and important, not just for the individuals raising those issues, but for Hong Kong as an autonomous entity within the one country, two systems model, in order to address those issues in a way that is constructive and in the long-term interests of the people of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for that. We do provide consular assistance to the BNO passport holders, but he is right also to talk about the limitations on that status. That was part of the careful balance that I referred to in my earlier remarks. We want to see that respected on all sides. That is one element of the one country, two systems model. That is what China advocates. That is what we want respected. It must be respected on all sides.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Richard Michael John Ogilvie Graham (Conservative, Centre-right): The 98th anniversary of the Communist party of China approaches imminently, and there are range of issues which the Foreign Secretary knows are delicately balanced. One, of course, is the importance of what happens in Taiwan; the second is what is going on in Xinjiang; and the third is the current crisis in Hong Kong The Foreign Secretary knows that Committees in both the Senate and Congress have advanced a new Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which would require an annual assessment to see whether Hong Kong is sufficiently autonomous still to justify that city’s special trading status with the United States. Has he discussed that with his US counterparts, and are things at a stage where Hong Kong’s special trading status could be seriously endangered by the situation?
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend has raised quite a few questions. Let me try to address just two of them When I was in Washington earlier this week, I had a chance to talk to congressmen on both sides of the aisle about the United States legislation, and they are making progress in that regard. My hon. Friend also referred to the forthcoming anniversary on 1 October and some of the wider concerns beyond Hong Kong, and he mentioned Xinjiang. We are concerned about, for example, reports—and they are credible reports—of more than 1 million people being held in camps against their will. There is, I think, increasing international concern about that, and about the repressive mistreatment of those people and its impact on China’s international human rights obligations. Let me again make the point that China is now a leading member of the international community. It is a P5 member of the Security Council, and it is very important for those basic international obligations to be respected.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for the careful and measured way in which she asked that question. Our overarching effort now is to convey the message from the UK, but also from the international community, that the one country, two systems model is respected. It has implications for BNOs, and it has implications for autonomy and the right to peaceful protest in Hong Kong. They are all part of the same package. I am not going to start getting into what will happen if that package is ripped up on the other side, but I do think that—particularly given the concerns raised by the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman) about the question of troop movements and whether there might be a major intervention from Beijing—we need to be very clear about the fact that that would put at risk the model that China itself has advocated.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Robert William Henry Seely (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the Foreign Secretary understand the concerns in the House about the BNOs? China is not trying to abolish one country, two systems, but it is squeezing it and pressuring it, and it is therefore right for us to look at alternatives to the current BNO status, such as giving BNOs the right to work in the UK at short notice and, potentially, a fast track to residency. On that point, there are also 250 former servicemen in Hong Kong whom, arguably, we have not looked after well enough. Will the Foreign Secretary and the Government look at that issue as well?
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is, I think, right to say that China is so far respecting the one country, two systems model, and for the large part is trying to respect—or seeking to respect, or at least talking about respecting—the degree to which it is reflected in the joint declaration. I think that as long as we are in that position, it would be wrong for us to unpick one element of the package, namely the status of BNOs. Of course, as was mentioned by the hon. Member for Darlington (Jenny Chapman), if it is all reviewed on the side of China, we would obviously want to think again, but I think that for the moment the right thing to do is convey to the Chinese Government and the Administration in Hong Kong why it is in the interests of all sides to respect the one country, two systems model.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: Government Operations
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady has made an excellent point in a very powerful way. She will understand if I respect the role and the remit of Ofcom in this regard, but of course we follow that issue very closely.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, which is that it is in the interests of Hong Kong and China to respect the one country, two systems model and the autonomy, both economic and political, that is reflected within it.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I agree with much of what the hon. Lady says, and I can reassure her that I met Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok on 31 July. I was due to meet him again in New York this week, but of course the House is now sitting again.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Luke Patrick Graham (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome some of the comments from my right hon. Friend, especially his condemning violence and praising peaceful protest. How can he use his offices and our position in the UN to make it clear that the Sino-British declaration is a live international treaty and not a historical document, as many Chinese officials have tried to suggest?
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is widely accepted that this was an international agreement. It is binding under international law, and while there may be some who call it into question, I do not think it is in the interests of anyone in Hong Kong, in China or, for our part, in the United Kingdom, to call it into question. That is something on which there is widespread agreement among our international partners.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): We can make our position clear both to the Administration in Hong Kong and to my Chinese opposite number, as the Prime Minister and all Members of the Government do. We also need to work with our international partners to look carefully at the situation to ensure that we are telegraphing as clear and broad a signal as possible to the Government in Beijing about the concerns that my hon. Friend rightly raises.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not think that the point right now is to issue threats to the Government of China. The UK and our international partners need to be very clear that we want to respect the one country, two systems model and that some of the things that we are seeing in Hong Kong and the military build-up of troops on the Chinese side of the border—about which concern has been expressed on both sides of the House—would put that at risk.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Philip Martin Dunne (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Mr Speaker I lived in Hong Kong for some years, including during the political transition, so I feel particularly acutely the pressures on the people who are legitimately protesting there. I welcome the fact that concerns have been expressed across the House about the way in which the Hong Kong authorities have handled the protests. Although it was more than 20 years ago, I am acutely aware of the strong and close trading and financial links between this country and Hong Kong. What can my right hon. Friend do to ensure that business confidence is maintained so that Hong Kong remains the vibrant financial centre that is so important in international trade?
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. Of course, responsibility for respecting the stability and the economic vibrancy of Hong Kong lies with the Hong Kong Administration and more generally with the Government in China. At the level of business and civil society and in our conduct and dealings with the Hong Kong Administration and the Chinese Government, we will be very clear about where we think their interests lie and the risks of undermining of Hong Kong’s autonomy—its economic as well as its political autonomy. That touches on the issues that my right hon. Friend raised.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: Foreign Trade
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I am saying that we have a rigorous and robust system—one of the best in the world—for export licence control and we will keep it constantly under review. That means that we monitor and listen to what the officials on the other side say about importing those goods, but fundamentally we make an objective and independent assessment to ensure that the UK rules are respected.
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Stephen Daniel Double (Conservative, Centre-right): I was going to ask the Foreign Secretary about the position of BNO passport holders, but he has already answered many questions on that. I just want to add my support to doing all we can for them. What assessment has he made of the treatment of religious minorities in Hong Kong by the Chinese authorities? Will he ensure that the Government do everything we can to support not only the civil and political freedoms of the people of Hong Kong, but religious liberty there?
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Stephen Charles Kerr (Conservative, Centre-right): Building on the Foreign Secretary’s response to my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double), the confidence of the people of Hong Kong in the intentions of the Chinese Government is undermined by clear evidence of the violation of human rights, especially in freedom of religion or belief or the exercise of conscience, as my right hon. Friend described it. Will he be specific about the representations Her Majesty’s Government have made to the Chinese Government about the 1 million Muslims who are being held in re-education camps?
Hong Kong — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): We raise that matter in the United Nations. I have been clear about the UK’s position, which is that we are very concerned about it. The reports look credible and it looks as if the most basic undertakings under international human rights law have been violated. We will continue to ensure that those concerns are expressed directly and candidly. We want a friendship and a partnership with the Government of China—I have said that to the Chinese Foreign Minister—but in all good friendships we must be able to talk candidly when there are concerns.
Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia) — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): Clearly, the conflict in Yemen is a cause of great concern and we fully support the UN-led process to reach peaceful resolution. As the hon. Gentleman said, we have contributed £770 million of UK aid. What we are talking about today, however, is specific procedural issues relating to export licences We have a procedure that follows the consolidated criteria and is very clear about humanitarian law. In its judgment on 20 June, the Court of Appeal was very clear that we have in place a rigorous and robust process. The issue is how that process has been followed. That is why, when I was first informed of this issue, on 12 September, as Secretary of State I took immediate action to have an internal investigation into what had happened. I asked the permanent secretary to get a leader from another Government Department to fully investigate the process and to make sure that no such licences could be issued in error by putting in place a robust process. At the same time, I took immediate steps to inform the Court and Parliament. I have been completely open and transparent about what has happened This is a procedural issue. I do not want to prejudge the investigation, but the issue appears to be the sharing of information across Government. That is why senior officials will now be asked to sign off on the advice that is put forward, and Ministers will be asked to sign off these export licences.
Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia) — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Philip Martin Dunne (Conservative, Centre-right): I think everyone across the House shares my right hon. Friend’s views on the significance and the horror of the humanitarian situation in Yemen. I believe that what she has expressed to the House today is quite proper remorse and steps to ensure that the Government follow the well-established procedures for arms exports, but will she reflect on the fact that only yesterday the House was debating the impact on the kingdom of Saudi Arabia of the attack on oil facilities in that country by its neighbours across the Gulf, the Iranians? This is a very sensitive area. One of our key allies in the Gulf is under considerable pressure from the Iranian authorities, and we as a Government need to act responsibly to ensure that we stand by our allies when they come under attack.
Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia) — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: Foreign Trade
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend makes an important point, but the topic of today’s question is the following of procedures in the consolidated criteria. The consolidated criteria are right; they are a good way to make sure that we issue export licences to the right parties. The problem here is specifically whether that process was followed correctly within Government and whether information was shared between Government Departments. That is the issue we have identified. I have taken immediate steps to ensure that information is properly shared when those decisions are taken, and to investigate what went wrong, but of course I take full responsibility as Secretary of State, and I have made an unreserved apology both to the Court and to Parliament.
Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia) — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: Foreign Trade
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Gentleman asked me first about the process that took place within Government. The answer is that the joint unit is staffed by officials from the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign Office and the Department for International Trade, and clearly there was a failing when it came to sharing information across Government. A director general of the Department for Work and Pensions is conducting an investigation to look precisely at the question of which Department issued, or did not issue, the information and how it was shared. The results of that investigation will be put forward in due course. This is a complex area. The Export Control Joint Unit approves approximately 16,000 licences a year, so it is important that we get this right and do not rush to an answer before we are ready Regarding the consolidated criteria on licensing, it is also important that we adhere to the terms of our undertaking to the Court and our statement to Parliament, and I was talking earlier specifically about breaches of our undertaking to the Court and our statement to Parliament.
Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia) — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: Labor
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): I can assure my hon. Friend that I have put in place an interim procedure to ensure that there is sign-off from senior officials in all three relevant Departments and ministerial sign-off on any proposed export licences to the relevant parties. I also assure him that we are conducting an investigation, which will be led by a director general from the Department for Work and Pensions, into exactly what went wrong in this case to ensure that it cannot happen again.
Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia) — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: Government Operations
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): The Court of Appeal was very clear in its judgment that there is a rigorous and robust process in place across Government. The question is about the specific sharing of information between Government Departments. I have absolute confidence that the unit, when it receives information, implements that in doing its work. The issue is the sharing of information. That is why we have conducted an internal review of the licences already issued as well as asking another Government Department to look across the board at where information was shared. This is not an issue about the process, which was deemed by the Court of Appeal to be rigorous and robust; it is about how that process has been followed. A lot of people are saying, "Why can’t we do this quicker?" It is very important that we get this right. In the interim period, I have put in place a procedure that makes sure that there is senior sign-off from all three Departments—the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence and the DIT—as well as ministerial sign-off. There was not ministerial sign-off on these licences. This was done under the previous procedure. There will now be ministerial sign-off on all the relevant licences.
Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia) — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): The role of the joint unit is to scrutinise licences. I can assure the right hon. Lady that we have put in place an interim process to make sure that all available Government information is reflected in advice to Ministers on the issuance of these licences to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners, and that that will specifically have ministerial sign-off.
Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia) — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Neil Quentin Gordon Parish (Conservative, Centre-right): I also very much welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. Britain has played a leading role in both diplomatic and humanitarian aid in Yemen. What more political pressure can we bring to bring about a political solution in Yemen?
Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia) — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right that we play a significant role in terms of aid to Yemen—we have provided £770 million-worth—and it is important that we work through the UN, to which the Foreign Secretary is committed, to seek as quickly as possible an end to conflict in Yemen.
Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia) — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: Government Operations
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): To be clear for the hon. Gentleman, it was on 12 September that the errors were identified within the Department and notified to me. We then notified the Court and immediately conducted an internal review of all the licences already issued. All these issues relate to decisions that were made before 12 September, and that is why we have put in place the new interim procedure.
Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia) — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: Foreign Trade
Stephen Charles Kerr (Conservative, Centre-right): It is of vital reputational importance that we maintain the most rigorous and robust export licensing regime in the world. To that end, what is the basis upon which these licences are granted, as in this instance?
Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia) — House of Commons, 2019-09-26
Topic: International Affairs
Elizabeth Mary Truss (Conservative, Centre-right): The basis on which these licences are granted is in line with the consolidated criteria. Specifically for Saudi Arabia and the coalition partners, we are very much cognisant of the Court of Appeal’s ruling and the undertaking of the former Secretary of State to Parliament.