Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank all our witnesses, both here in Ottawa and in Hong Kong.
I want to state, first of all, how impressed I am with the testimony, particularly from our young people, and particularly with the testimony we just heard from Mr. Wong.
We have been seized with this issue here at the foreign affairs committee since the Umbrella Revolution started, mainly because we see Canada's role as being extraordinarily important in ensuring that the commitments that were made, and that Canada had participated in, between China and Hong Kong will continue.
Mr. Burton, in your comments you mentioned that China's position has changed, and I think therefore our position needs to respond to that change.
I also want to note that our sister Parliament in the U.K. recently had a study done and presented a report on Hong Kong, which said the following:
The preservation of both the letter and the spirit of the Joint Declaration is crucial to Hong Kong's economic and business success....In addition to debates on constitutional reform, we heard widespread concern that the autonomy, rights and freedoms guaranteed to Hong Kong in the Joint Declaration and Basic Law have been gradually eroded in recent years....
That's from our sister Parliament in the U.K. in their committee study.
We are doing a study. We are looking to have recommendations that we can submit to our Parliament. I'm glad to have heard recommendations from some of our witnesses.
Mr. Law, regarding the situation since the Umbrella Revolution, the protests that you laid out, and the conditions in which people are living, what is the status right now on the ground in Hong Kong with regard to peaceful demonstrations, the ability for you to speak out, and press freedom? I would note that we just celebrated press freedom day on the weekend. Can you give us an update as to what's happening on the ground in Hong Kong for students, for people who want to continue to speak out, and the press?
Thank you.