Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Seanadóirí a chur an t-ábhar seo faoinár mbráid ar maidin. Ireland has very long-standing connections with Hong Kong and a strong Irish community there. The Department of Foreign Affairs has been closely monitoring political developments, in particular the implementation of the national security law adopted in June of last year.These measures have led to the detention of a number of pro-democracy and human rights activists over the past few months. We are particularly concerned following the mass arrest of 55 pro-democracy law makers and activists on 6 January this year. These charges were made in relation to the holding of primary elections to select pro-democracy candidates for the next legislative council elections.

In response, the EU made a statement on 7 January calling for the immediate release of those arrested and urged the authorities to respect Hong Kong's rule of law, human rights, democratic principles and its high degree of autonomy under the one country two systems principle, as enshrined in the Hong Kong basic law and in line with domestic and international obligations. All but three of those detained have since been released.

Ireland and the EU have been active in raising concerns about the law and have issued a number of statements which outlined our concern regarding the situation. We call on China to respect its international commitments and the high degree of autonomy granted to Hong Kong under the one country, two systems principle. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, made a statement on 1 July last year to express concern at the adoption of the law and to reiterate Ireland's full support for fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, such as freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.

On 28 July, the EU adopted Council conclusions expressing grave concern over the national security legislation for Hong Kong. These conclusions restated the EU's support for Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy. We expressed our solidarity with the people of Hong Kong and set out a package of measures in various fields, including asylum, migration, visa and residence policy, controls on the exports of specific sensitive equipment and technologies for end-use in Hong Kong, the operation of member states' extradition arrangements and other relevant agreements with Hong Kong.

In line with these conclusions, the Government agreed, on 13 October 2020, to suspend Ireland's extradition agreement with Hong Kong. This decision, taken in concert with a number of other EU member states, clearly signalled Ireland's concern for the rule of law in Hong Kong. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, also raised his concerns for Hong Kong directly with the Chinese Ambassador to Ireland. The EU continues to raise its concern with the Chinese authority, particularly at the most recent EU-China summit and the EU-China leaders' meeting.

Through our consulate general in Hong Kong, our embassy in Beijing and our EU partners, the Government will continue to monitor and assess the situation and will respond to these developments appropriately.