London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

British government urges Hong Kong protesters to ‘end the violence’ while calling for ‘proportionate’ police response in handling demonstrators

London government’s stance was spelt out in its latest six-monthly parliamentary report on Hong Kong. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says there must be a ‘meaningful dialogue between all parties’

Britain has called on anti-government protesters in Hong Kong to “end the violence”, while also asking police to “be proportionate” in their handling of demonstrators.

It also noted that the nature of the protests had changed and stressed that the violence of a “hard-core minority cannot be condoned”.

London’s stance was spelt out in its latest six-monthly parliamentary report on Hong Kong, released on Thursday, which also called on the city’s leader, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, to look ahead to “the path towards de-escalation and political resolution” to break the impasse in its former colony, which has been rocked by worsening protests for almost five months.

In a foreword to the 19-page report, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab wrote: “Protesters must end the violence. The police response must be proportionate in their handling of protesters and safeguard the right to peaceful protests. And there must be a meaningful dialogue between all parties.”

Although the report covers the six-month period up to June 30, Raab made reference to subsequent events in his comments and noted the nature of the protests had changed over the months, “not only in terms of scale and scope, but also in terms of approach”.

He said: “Protesters have vandalised property and tried to shut down banks, metro stations and the airport. A police officer was injured by a knife, and petrol bombs have been thrown at police stations and other targets.”

Although the report covers the six-month period up to June 30, Raab made reference to subsequent events in his comments and noted the nature of the protests had changed over the months, “not only in terms of scale and scope, but also in terms of approach”.

He said: “Protesters have vandalised property and tried to shut down banks, metro stations and the airport. A police officer was injured by a knife, and petrol bombs have been thrown at police stations and other targets.”

Raab wrote that “the UK has always been clear that the violence of a hard-core minority cannot be condoned,” as he also expressed “serious concerns” about the alleged mistreatment of protesters by Hong Kong police.

Almost one-fourth of the report details the course of the social unrest that was triggered by the government’s proposed extradition bill to plug loopholes in fugitive transfer laws.

It includes the case at the centre of the crisis, that of Hongkonger Chan Tong-kai, wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his girlfriend, the Hong Kong government’s bid to speed up the bill’s passage in the legislature by bypassing the bills committee stage, and Lam’s suspension of the bill after two million people took to the streets in June in protest.

The now-withdrawn bill would have allowed fugitive transfers with jurisdictions Hong Kong does not have an extradition agreement with, including mainland China and Taiwan.

The movement has also evolved, with the scope of protesters’ demands growing to include calls for universal suffrage and even the disbanding of the police force.

Beijing has labelled the upheaval as having “obvious characteristics of a colour revolution”, supported by “foreign forces”, referring to Western countries.

The British report stressed that “we condemn violence, but support the right to peaceful and lawful protest”, and “the right for people to stand up for their freedoms, as guaranteed under the Joint Declaration”.

The Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed in 1984 between London and Beijing, set out the terms of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.

Chinese officials have referred to it as an “historic document” that had “completed its mission”, but the report reiterated London’s stance that it remained a legally binding treaty.

“It is unacceptable to suggest that it is no longer valid. As a co-signatory, the UK is committed to monitoring its implementation closely, and we have made this clear to the Chinese government on many occasions,” it said.

A Hong Kong government spokesman said in response to the report that violent and illegal incidents in the city caused damage to district and community facilities, as well as injury to members of the public. In response, the police have been exercising restraint and carrying out enforcement actions in strict accordance with the law, he said.

The spokesman also added that the government has launched a diversified dialogue platform and will invite community leaders and experts to conduct an in-depth examination of the social conflicts in Hong Kong.

The spokesman reiterated that foreign governments should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs of Hong Kong.

The report also highlighted the trial of the Occupy Central leaders in April, saying: “It would be deeply concerning if the outcome for these individuals was to deter the people of Hong Kong from participating in peaceful and lawful protest in the future.”

It also touched on pro-independence activists Ray Wong Toi-yeung and Alan Li Tung-sing being granted asylum in Germany in May, after the duo fled Hong Kong in November 2017 ahead of their trials for their roles in the 2016 Mong Kok riot.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
×