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<p>We remain concerned by the Hong Kong authorities’ unprecedented rejection of a
visa for senior British journalist Victor Mallet. The Minister for Asia and the Pacific
raised this issue with Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung during his visit to
Hong Kong on 11 November. He sought an explanation for the visa refusal, but did not
receive one. In the absence of an explanation from the authorities we can only conclude
that this move is politically motivated. This undermines Hong Kong’s freedom of speech
and freedom of the press, both guaranteed by the Joint Declaration, and the Basic
Law, and increases the pressure on the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ framework. Confidence
in Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms is an essential component of its future success.</p>
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