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Last governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten calls on Britain to speak up when ‘one country, two systems’ is undermined
At panel addressing free speech and press freedom, he believes former colonial powers ‘should do more’ and ‘say more’
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The last governor of Hong Kong has called on Britain to speak up more explicitly for the city whenever the principle of “one country, two systems” is being undermined.
Chris Patten was addressing a panel on Saturday at the Open Future Festival organised by The Economist in Hong Kong via London, which touched on free speech and press freedom.
He believed British officials “should do more” and “say more” about Hong Kong.
“I think they have been more explicit in the last year or two about the plain breaches that are undermining the Joint Declaration and the promises made in that by China and Britain,” Patten said. “But I think they should, like the rest of the international community, be more outspoken.”
His remarks came a week after the British government issued its latest six-month report on Hong Kong in which Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt reiterated the Sino-British Joint Declaration remained relevant today despite earlier contrasting claims by the Chinese officials.
The report also warned of “growing concerns” over the issue of free speech in the city.
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