In the UK, how would a Jeremy Corbyn government engage China and the Hong Kong protests?
- The Labour leader and prime ministerial candidate is under pressure to take a clearer line on human rights issues involving Beijing
- But any criticism is expected to remain muted to maximise the possibility of securing a long-term free trade deal with China
It’s very important that the Labour Party don’t just see China as a trading opportunity
“We are very conscious of the importance of international support for democracy in Hong Kong and it’s very important that the Labour Party don’t just see China as a trading opportunity,” the Labour peer Charles Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton and a former lord chancellor, who chaired the meeting, told the South China Morning Post.
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“There is a strand of opinion that says Hong Kong is a rebellion of the rich. You should not buy the [Communist Party] line that that is what it is. The degree of repression is huge,” he said.
Corbyn has said little about his foreign policy plans should he win the December 12 general election, and even less on China, leading to accusations from some quarters that he is too soft on authoritarian governments.
“Imperialism is all the same, whether Chinese or British,” he said.
“We rightly worry about democracy in Hong Kong and religious persecution on the mainland but China has shown the capacity for change before, on issues like climate change and many others,” she said. “We must now influence it to take the lead on the issue of human rights.”
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“China has featured briefly in Labour’s election campaign with a section in its manifesto noting that the ‘Uygurs in China have been met with total inaction and apathy by the current UK government’ – leading to an implicit suggestion that a Corbyn government would be more assertive,” said Chris Ogden, associate professor in Asian security at the University of St Andrews’ School of International Relations.
Labour MP Catherine West, a strong supporter of the Hong Kong protesters, said the party had pledged £400 million (US$525 million) to promote human rights around the world through its foreign office that “would allow ministers to underline human rights concerns in bilateral meetings”.
Other observers said there were signals that a Corbyn government would “kowtow to Beijing”.
“Here is a man who wants to be prime minister and he has nothing to say about China as a world force, UK-China relations, Chinese technology and other sensitive investments in the UK, Chinese repression of minorities, human rights, trade unions and so on,” said the economist George Magnus, a research associate at Oxford University’s China Centre, and a critic of both Corbyn and China.
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Just last month, Jingye Group announced it was buying British Steel. The rescue deal for the collapsed steelmaker involves the Chinese conglomerate paying about £50 million and saving 4,000 jobs, mostly at its main plant in Scunthorpe in the north of England.
