Question Period Note: Political Unrest in Hong Kong

Large-scale protests erupted in Hong Kong in response to changes proposed by the HK authorities to its extradition laws that would have allowed extradition to China.

• Canada urges all sides involved in the current crisis to exercise restraint, to refrain from violence and to engage in peaceful and inclusive dialogue.

• Canada supports the right of peaceful protest and Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and freedoms under the Basic Law and the “One Country, Two Systems” framework.

• Canada has a vested interest in Hong Kong's stability and prosperity - the foundation of which is Hong Kong's relative autonomy and basic freedoms.

• Canada will continue to closely monitor the situation in Hong Kong, and to provide consular services to Canadians as required.

• Canada congratulates the people of Hong Kong, who turned out in high numbers to cast their votes in the peaceful District Council elections.
We hope that the elections will set a path towards political dialogue and reconciliation.

Large-scale protests erupted this spring in Hong Kong in response to changes proposed by the Hong Kong authorities to the Special Administrative Region's (SAR) extradition laws that would have allowed case-by-case extradition to all jurisdictions, including mainland China. Despite the announcement that the extradition bill was suspended on June 15, and fully withdrawn on October 23, protests have continued with broader demands and increasingly violent clashes between a minority of protesters and security forces.

Anxiety over the loss of Hong Kong's autonomy and its basic freedoms and lack of trust in Beijing has sustained the movement.

The District Council elections were held peacefully on November 24. As of November 25, a record 71.2% of registered voters were said to have cast a ballot (2.94 million), electing more than 300 pan-democrats candidates (vs. 105 in 2015) and approximately 60 pro-Beijing candidates (vs. 298 in 2015). Pan-democrats also secured a majority of seats in 17 of 18 districts, after winning none in 2015.
The political unrest in Hong Kong has generated intense attention from the international community, including statements and comments from major political figures in the US, the UK, the EU, France and Germany.

There are major concerns among like-minded countries regarding a potential intervention by mainland China's security forces, and continued erosion of Hong Kong's autonomy, freedoms and rule of law.

As of November 22, Canada has issued 3 statements on the current unrest in Hong Kong: on May 30 in a joint statement with the UK, on June 12 in a standalone statement and on August 17 in a joint statement with the EU.

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