London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 30, 2025

UK foreign minister Dominic Raab to raise Hong Kong protests in talks with French and German counterparts

The diplomatic force of European action will be strongest if the three countries act together, says an advocate for the pro-democracy demonstrators. The British foreign secretary considers Hong Kong and Iran his top two foreign policy issues, according to people familiar with his thinking
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will discuss Hong Kong’s situation with his German and French counterparts on Wednesday, his office said on Tuesday.

A London-based advocate for the protesters in Hong Kong said Raab should make use of his separate meetings with Heiko Maas and Jean-Yves Le Drian, the foreign ministers of Germany and France, to discuss asylum situations and to promote an independent investigation into the increasingly violent situation.

The meetings will take place in Brussels on the sidelines of the Nato foreign ministers’ meeting.

“The foreign secretary will also use today’s visit to separately meet with his E3 French and German counterparts to discuss shared foreign policy challenges, including … the escalation of protests in Hong Kong,” Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement.

Raab’s meetings come two days after the European Union – of which all three countries are members – urged the Hong Kong government not to delay the district council elections planned for Sunday.

People familiar with his thinking said Raab considered Hong Kong and Iran his top two foreign policy issues.

Johnny Patterson, director of Hong Kong Watch, said: “With the situation in Hong Kong on a knife edge, it is vital that European leaders step up. Dominic Raab should stand with his French and German counterparts to call for an independent inquiry into the protests as this is the only viable route to a political solution.”

Patterson said the diplomatic force of European action would be strongest if these countries acted together.

“They should draw up a contingency plan if Hongkongers start seeking asylum, and should tell Beijing that the further erosion of rights and freedoms will result in the application of coordinated Magnitsky sanctions,” he said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government has committed to implementing a global Magnitsky Act to punish perpetrators of human rights abuses. Campaigners have called for this to be applied to Hong Kong officials.

Germany has granted asylum to two Hong Kong activists, though they were not related to the protests that started in June when Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor rolled out a divisive extradition bill, which has since been withdrawn.

Maas attracted criticism from China in September when he met Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Hong Kong's leading student activist, in Berlin.

Germany and France should coordinate with Britain on how to come to a unified position on Hong Kong, according to foreign policy experts in the two countries.

The meetings “should serve to come to a common understanding about the severity of what is happening” in Hong Kong, with a joint position and “ideally one that bites a bit more beyond just stating that all sides should be restrained”, said Mikko Huotari, deputy director of the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin.

“Beyond statements, they should discuss: Can/should there be any effective conditionality attached to our ‘concerns’? What leverage – if at all – do we have?” Huotari said in an emailed reply.

Antoine Bondaz, fellow at the Paris-based Foundation for Strategic Research, said the top priority for France would be to have a coordinated and united approach with the British.

On Monday, the European Union warned the Hong Kong government not to delay the district council elections scheduled for Sunday, amid speculation about a possible postponement amid the protests.

The 28-country bloc also called for police action to remain “strictly proportionate” in and around Polytechnic University, where a tense stand-off between radical protesters and police continued.

The statement came in the form of a declaration by the European Commission’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, on behalf of the EU.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
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
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
×