Britain’s China doves push back against ‘flag-waving’ rhetoric on Beijing

British left accused of echoing former US president Donald Trump and other hardliners in calling for tougher line on Beijing

Former Liberal Democrat leader says ‘simply shouting at China over human rights is unproductive’

5-MIN READ5-MIN

Former British politician Vince Cable supports the visa scheme for Hong Kong residents who hold British National (Overseas) passports but is pushing back against the country’s rising anti-China sentiment. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 4:00pm, 5 Sep 2021Updated: 10:45am, 9 Sep 2021

Britain should drop sanctions on Chinese officials, pipe down on human rights, and stop taking its talking points from the Trump wing of the US Republican Party, according to former business secretary Sir Vince Cable, one of a small coterie of politicians pushing back against rising anti-China sentiment among British lawmakers.

Cable, the former Liberal Democrat leader, dismissed the backlash as “virtue signalling”. He was also sceptical of accusations of genocide in Xinjiang, saying it was a decision for the United Nations, and that “simply shouting at China over human rights is completely unproductive”.

Former leader of Britain’s Liberal Democrat Party Vince Cable. Photo: AFP

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Cable welcomed Britain’s scheme to offer visas to Hongkongers fleeing Beijing’s crackdown on the city, but said Boris Johnson’s government should not continue “lecturing” China on how to run the place.

“I understand the people feeling very upset and outraged about it but what is Britain going to do? What can we do, we no longer have a colonial empire,” he said.

And he accused the British left of echoing former US president Donald Trump and other hardliners in calling for a tougher line on China.