What went wrong with Hong Kong, and could it have been prevented?

In this interview, David Alton (Lord Alton of Liverpool) reflects on Hong Kong, China and human rights after decades in British politics. First elected in 1979 and now Chair of Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, he offers a candid account of missed opportunities and their consequences.

Looking back to the 1980s, he makes a striking admission. He regrets not pushing harder for all Hong Kong people to be given the right of settlement in the UK and Commonwealth countries. He believes the possibility that “everybody could get up and leave” might have discouraged Beijing from breaking its promises under the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

The interview examines the erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong and the rise of transnational repression. Lord Alton questions why the UK government did not make the release of Jimmy Lai a condition before Keir Starmer met Xi Jinping. Jimmy Lai, a British citizen, remains imprisoned in Hong Kong.

He also recalls his final visit to Hong Kong in 2019, when he shared supper with Jimmy Lai, Martin Lee and Joseph Zen at a moment that now feels historic.

Video Chapters：

00:00　Introducing the Human Rights Committee Report

00:38　Human rights as a lifetime’s cause

01:00　Need more plants of “honesty” in politics

01:40　Early connections to Hong Kong

03:45　Sanctions from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia

05:15　Transnational repression towards HK dissents

07:36　Joint Declaration and regret

10:12　Faith, and last supper with Jimmy Lai