On Monday, the trial begins of 47 Hong Kong election candidates who dared to put their names forward for election primaries last year despite the election being banned under the repressive new national security laws. The 47 people involved include Leung Kwok-hung, also known as Long Hair, the veteran democracy campaigner and left activist who spent more than 15 years in the Hong Kong legislature. They have been refused bail and face jail sentences of up to life imprisonment if found guilty of the trumped-up charge of subversion. Will the Taoiseach send the strongest possible protest to the Chinese embassy in order to register the opposition of the Irish Government and the Irish State to the trial of these election candidates?

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. The Government, working with our European Union colleagues, has already conveyed and articulated our deep concerns about what is happening within Hong Kong more generally, particularly as regards democracy being applied. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and I will continue to make representations on this specific issue and more generally about what has been happening in Hong Kong.