China News 26 May 2020
International
Hong Kong:
China's military says it is prepared to protect security in Hong Kong as protests grow. 10,000 troops prepared to ‘safeguard’ city. The PLA said yesterday they were “confident and capable of smashing any activities that would damage national unity.” Guardian, Daily Mail, 26 May & Global Times interview
“For the time being”, people have the freedom to say whatever they want to say says Carrie Lam. CGTN, BBC, 26 May
Beijing suggests pro-democracy protesters are terrorists. “Terrorism is growing in the city and activities which harm national security, such as ‘Hong Kong independence’, become more rampant,” Secretary for Security John Lee said in a statement. Reuters, 25 May
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Joint declaration of British rights and obligations is over. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: “All the rights and obligations stipulated in the Sino-British Joint Statement have been fully fulfilled. The United States has no legal basis and no qualification to invoke the Sino-British Joint Statement.” Mingpao, 26 May
US likely to implement sanctions on Beijing if Hong Kong national security law forced through. White House National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien suggested that it would result in the imposition of sanctions against China under the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019. He commented: “It’s hard to see how Hong Kong could remain the Asian financial centre that it’s become if China takes over,” CNBC
China threatens US with counter measures if punished for Hong Kong law, Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian says. SCMP, 26 May
UK should lead opposition to Hong Kong security law, says Patten. Telegraph, 25 May
We must not let China use Covid as cover for a Hong Kong power grab - Ruth Davidson, Telegraph, 25 May
“In the face of Chinese repression, Britain must fulfil its duty to Hong Kong” - Alex Fraser and Benedict Rogers, CAPX, 24 May
UK officials looking to slow down Huawei ban - but former NATO Secretary General says move faster. The Times reports that, “Ministers suspect it will be impossible to remove Huawei technology from Britain’s telecoms networks by 2023 despite mounting fears about security risks.” It reports that ministers are to prohibit the purchase and installation of new equipment from 2023, rather than an outright ban. “Otherwise we’d be asking BT to essentially rip up the entire fibre optic network,” one official said. “It would make the 2025 broadband pledge impossible.” However, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former Nato secretary-general and prime minister of Denmark, said that the UK government’s stance of allowing a access to Huawei “hampers its moral leadership” on the world stage and could encourage nations with weaker cybersecurity to follow suit. “I know the UK is looking at how to get Huawei out of its network by 2023, it should seek to do this, but by then the damage will be done,” he said. He has called for a new alliance of democracies to challenge autocracies. Times, 26 May
EU's top diplomat urges 'more robust strategy' toward China, but warns against EU being forced to choose sides. EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told a gathering of German ambassadors on Monday that “analysts have long talked about the end of an American-led system and the arrival of an Asian century. This is now happening in front of our eyes.” He said for the EU the “pressure to choose sides is growing.” He said the 27-nation bloc “should follow our own interests and values and avoid being instrumentalised by one or the other.” He added: “we only have a chance if we deal with China with collective discipline… We need a more robust strategy for China, which also requires better relations with the rest of democratic Asia.” AP, 25 May & Guardian 26 May
MEP calls for EU sanctions mechanism. German MEP Reinhard Bütikofer said: “It is inappropriate for a community of values like the European Union to react to the planned massive restrictions on freedom and rights and the cries for help from young democracy activists in Hong Kong with loud silence, instead of plain language.” He said: “In order to be able to impose sanctions for human rights violations against Chinese officials responsible for them, we finally need an EU-wide agreed global sanctions mechanism, as proposed by the European Parliament in March 2019.” Welt, 26 May
China plans to deploy two aircraft carriers off Taiwan for war games. Daily Mail, 26 May
China-India Border Talks Remain Difficult Amid Map-Burning Controversy. There are reports of up to 10,000 Chinese troops in Indian territory. The Diplomat, Twitter, 26 May
China-Africa relations and discrimination. CNN, 26 May
Economy / tech
Xi says China will look inward for growth. Xi said China was pursuing a new development plan in which “domestic circulation plays the dominant role”. Xinhua reported him saying: “For the future, we must treat domestic demand as the starting point and foothold as we accelerate the building of a complete domestic consumption system, and greatly promote innovation in science, technology and other areas.” SCMP, 25 May
China’s five-year plan to focus on independence as US decoupling threat grows. SCMP, 24 May
China to use special off-deficit bonds to help economy recover. Bloomberg, 25 May
Long reads
The Macdonald Laurier Institute names Xi Jinping as the most influential policymaker in Canada this year. “It is remarkable how China has been able to reach deep into Canadian society – whether we are talking about Canadian businesses, universities and college campuses, diaspora groups and associations, and politicians of all political stripes and levels of governments – with little in the way of public response.” Macdonald Laurier
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