On 28 November, the Chinese Deputy Ambassador informed us that the Chinese government would take any necessary measures to prevent the Committee from visiting Hong Kong, forcing us to postpone our visit. It was made clear that we would be prevented from entering Hong Kong, despite the fact that, as UK nationals, we did not need a visa for entry. We consider the ban by China on our visit to Hong Kong in 2014 to be unprecedented, and we see it as an obstruction to the conduct of our parliamentary duties. We will continue to engage with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities in the hope that the trip can be rescheduled.
3. On 2 December the House of Commons held an Emergency Debate on China's ban on our visit.[1] Those who took part were unanimous in expressing concern about the ban, which was described as "an extremely serious occurrence"[2] and an insult to the House of Commons.[3] We agree. In his response, the FCO Minister the Rt Hon Hugo Swire said that the decision to bar the Commit