§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he expects the citizens of Hong Kong to be forced to comply with Chinese legislation implementing or specifying(a) the need to obtain permission to marry, (b) the one-child policy, (c) the legal obligation to have an intra-uterine device inserted in the woman after one child, (d) the obligation for one of the partners in a marriage to be sterilised after the birth of a second child and (e) the obligation to abort any subsequent pregnancy; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GoodladNo. The Sino-British joint declaration, a legally binding agreement registered at the United Nations, provides that Hong Kong's present rights and freedoms, including the freedom to marry and the right to raise a family freely, will be maintained. In general Chinese laws will not be applied to Hong Kong.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if China is a signatory to any United Nations statement guaranteeing freedom to marry and the right to raise a family freely; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GoodladYes. China has signed the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, which is a legally binding document. We have consistently urged the Chinese authorities to sign other relevant conventions and covenants, including the international convention on civil and political rights (ICCPR) and the international covenant on economic and social rights (ICESR), and to improve their human rights performance generally.