Answer:
The first UK-Hong Kong Symposium was held successfully in March 2023. As participants showed strong support towards organising another in-person meeting to enhance cohesion and connections among various organisations and individuals in the UK-Hong Kong civil society, there is a need to gather different groups and individuals again to strategise and explore together our future directions. This year is the 10th anniversary of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, and also the 5th anniversary of the 2019 pro-democracy movement; not to mention our resources are becoming limited and the repression by the CCP is ever worsening.

In terms of guests, it is our honour to be able to invite Security Minster Tom Tugendhat MP, Shadow Minister for Asia and the Pacific Catherine West MP, the first BNO councillor Ying Perrett, Lord Alton, etc., to attend in-person.

Through this closed-door 3-day symposium, we aim to achieve the following three major objectives:

PERSIST in our faith to liberate Hong Kong, fostering a community of resilience and solidarity

PREPARE for the forthcoming challenges ahead in Hong Kong, the UK and the world.

PRESERVE Hong Kong’s unique culture and empower bonds among HongKongers.

Answer:All tickets have been underpriced and subsidised by generous private donation. Yet, resources are necessary for hosting any events. While the Steering Committee is working on an entirely voluntary basis, there are unavoidable expenses for venue hire, catering and other preparation materials. Although there is private sponsorship contributing to the success of the Symposium, it only covers the overall cost partially.

As the Symposium’s venue will be in Westminster, a very Central area right next to the Parliament, along with the easy commute, it will benefit not only the attendance of the MPs and Lords, but also the Symposium attendees on Day 3. However, this also means that the rent for the venue is relatively higher. Besides, funds gathered from the ticket sales will also go to sponsoring the tickets of students, asylum seekers and those with financial needs. Significant cost-cutting measures have been carried to keep the overall cost at the minimal level. The average full-day ticket price per day is around £11 only.

Answer:
The UK-Hong Kong Symposium 2024 Steering Committee is a group of representatives of UK-based Hong Kong community organisations across the UK, including London, Leeds, Sheffield, and Nottingham. All Committee members are strictly volunteers who are dedicated to the freedom of Hong Kong.

UK-Hong Kong Symposium 2024 Steering Committee Full Member List:

1. Benedict Rogers (Hong Kong Watch; London)

6. Sally (Nottingham Stands with Hong Kong; Nottingham)

2. Catherine Li (London)

7. Simon Cheng 鄭文傑 (Hongkongers in Britain; London)

3. Chloe Cheung 張晞晴 (Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation; London/ Leeds)

8. Tom (Hong Kong Aid; London)

4. Finn Lau 劉祖廸/ 攬炒 (Hong Kong Liberty; London)

9. Venus (Stand with Hong Kong (SWHK); London)

5. Himal (Re-Water CIC; Sheffield)

10. Vic (Leeds Umbrella CIC; Leeds)

All Steering Committee members are working on a voluntary basis. Upon the conclusion of the Symposium, the Steering Committee will collect the views of the participants on the possibility of holding the next Symposium, and on the method of forming the next committee. The current Steering Committee will then be exchanged or suspended based on the results.

Answer:
As long as your idea(s) or initiative(s) is relevant to any of the three key themes of the Symposium, you could apply for a 10 to 15-minute presentation slot via email. We will shortlist and pick presenter(s) based on a number of factors such as creativity and importance of the initiative, time constraint of the overall rundown and the number of applicants. If you are interested in sharing any interesting or important ideas, please email relevant information and/or slide deck to info@ukhongkongsymposium.com on or before 23:59 on 10 April 2024.

Answer:
All applicants are required to fill in the source of invitation for verification purposes. As this is a closed-door conference, your participation in the Symposium will remain strictly confidential, unless you wish to talk about it outside the Symposium. We also ask all participants to strictly respect Chatham House Rules for safety and security purposes.

With participants’ safety as the top priority, there would only be media representatives on the third day of the Symposium. Also they could not take any photos or videos of any participants unless they have obtained the respective consent. Media representatives will only film or interview any Steering Committee members or the Guest Speakers on the third day.

Answer:
Yes. As long as you could provide reasons and supporting evidence of your financial needs in your application, you could purchase any ticket at £0. We also offer free Student Tickets for any eligible full-time students.

Unfortunately, due to our limited budget, travel and accommodation cannot be funded this time except a limited number of participants such as asylum seekers with financial needs. Participants would have to be responsible for their own travel and accommodation expenses throughout the three days for the not-for-profit conference.

Answer:
Yes!

If you know a civil society member or anyone actively involved in UK-Hong Kong community integration or advocacy related that is not invited, please do let us know by emailing us or talking to a Steering Committee member directly. We definitely want to try to be as inclusive as possible!

Since this is a rare opportunity for Hongkongers across the UK to meet in person, we encourage each organisation to send more than 2 representatives to attend the Symposium. Only if the total number of participants reached the maximum venue capacity, the Steering Committee would then deploy the principle of maximising the number of organisations to allocate seats. Also, with the increasing number of confirmation of special guest speakers, the registration deadline is now extended to 7 April 2024.

Registration form：https://forms.gle/XiFZy9Bd5yueT1pCA