https://www.scmp.com/rss/322493/feed Tim Collard spent 20 years in the British diplomatic service, half of them in Beijing and Hong Kong. He is now retired and works as a freelance academic and journalist on China-related issues, and lives in Edinburgh, Scotland and the Philippines. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com One of the more successful regional relationships that China has pursued in the past few years is with the Philippines. Before Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was elected in May 2016, he had for several months been the front runner in the contest. Concerns had been expressed among Filipinos that Duterte’s established style – he was known as a mercurial character, similar to US President Donald Trump – might lead to confrontation, particularly with China. At the time, the Permanent Court of... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/tim-collard-china-cant-afford-browbeat-philippines-submission/article/3005671?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/tim-collard-china-cant-afford-browbeat-philippines-submission/article/3005671?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Apr 2019 09:10:05 +0000 One of the more successful regional relationships that China has pursued in the past few years is with the Philippines. Before Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was elected in May 2016, he had for several months been the front runner in the contest and concerns had been expressed among Filipinos that Duterte’s established style – he was known as a mercurial character, similar to US President Donald Trump – might lead to confrontation, particularly with China.  At the time, the Permanent Court... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3005320/south-china-sea-dispute-heats-china-must-not-belittle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3005320/south-china-sea-dispute-heats-china-must-not-belittle?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Apr 2019 03:00:14 +0000 Countries all over the world have been asking recently: what on earth is the UK government up to? Only six weeks before the country is set to leave the European Union, there appears to be no withdrawal agreement in place and no clear plan towards achieving a deal. This is not because of deadlock between government and opposition; it is because of an internal deadlock within both major parties, with some members of parliament frustrating a deal because they would be happier with a no-deal clean... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/world/article/2186612/bear-britain-brexit-mess-and-antagonistic-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/world/article/2186612/bear-britain-brexit-mess-and-antagonistic-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Feb 2019 15:00:15 +0000 This year, for the 24th year running, Hong Kong was named the “freest economy in the world” in the US Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom. This is an impressive tribute to the governance of Hong Kong during a potentially difficult period for the city, following the handover of sovereignty and the pioneering “one country, two systems” concept. I would not say that this accolade is worthless or irrelevant, but I would like to place it in context. The American political tradition places... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2163374/when-freedom-takes-some-strange-forms-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2163374/when-freedom-takes-some-strange-forms-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Sep 2018 12:00:45 +0000 The two great watchwords of President Xi Jinping’s ( 習近平 ) internal reform programme have been “corruption” and “discipline”. China, and the ruling Communist Party in particular, needs less of the former, more of the latter. At the beginning, the emphasis was more on addressing widespread popular resentment at abuse of power by officials, often involving demands for bribes. About a million of the party’s 90 million members have been sanctioned for corruption-related offences since Xi took power... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2041910/core-leader-xi-jinpings-china-discipline-trumps-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2041910/core-leader-xi-jinpings-china-discipline-trumps-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Nov 2016 06:15:14 +0000 At the time of President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) state visit to the UK last October, the preparatory messages coming from China were extremely positive. There was talk, endorsed at the highest levels, of a “golden age”, even a “golden decade” of Sino-British partnership. The British side was keen to lock in these promises, especially as there had been uncomfortable patches in the bilateral relationship due to Chinese suspicions of British interference in Hong Kong. And so both sides worked flat out... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1936084/sino-uk-golden-age-losing-its-shine-british-peoples-eyes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1936084/sino-uk-golden-age-losing-its-shine-british-peoples-eyes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Apr 2016 04:00:00 +0000 China’s newly promulgated national security law has sparked concern and debate in Hong Kong. Although there is as yet no question of this law being applied in its entirety to the special administrative region, no one will have forgotten that the city is required by Article 23 of the Basic Law to bring in a security law of its own. It can be assumed that the mainland authorities will expect such a law to be broadly aligned with the national legislation, or at least not to set itself up in overt... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1834443/hong-kong-must-guard-its-citizen-rights-both-now-and-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1834443/hong-kong-must-guard-its-citizen-rights-both-now-and-after?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Jul 2015 03:48:39 +0000 China's policy in recent years has been to take an increasingly hard line in defence of the government's positions both domestically and regionally. However, there is no sign of a greater tendency to try to impose the leadership's policies at a greater distance from home. China has, consistently and understandably, criticised the West for an excessive tendency towards long-distance intervention, which has frequently failed to achieve its aims and brought with it unintended and unwelcome... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1728583/xi-jinping-and-putin-effect?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1728583/xi-jinping-and-putin-effect?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2015 10:03:42 +0000 The National People's Congress Standing Committee decision on the modus for election of the chief executive in 2017 was well prepared. In many ways, the government's case was understandable: it should have been obvious that nobody would be able to run in 2017 as the "anti-Beijing" candidate. More worrying was the "national security" issue raised in the explanation of its decision; the fear of "foreign interference". After all, Hong Kong's prosperity depends on its international friends and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1599442/chinas-suspicion-interference-should-not-stop-fair-comment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1599442/chinas-suspicion-interference-should-not-stop-fair-comment?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Sep 2014 05:45:00 +0000 Matters regarding the establishment of universal suffrage in Hong Kong in 2017 have come to a head rather sooner than most expected. Was it wise for Occupy Central and its allies to raise the stakes so high so early? We are now awaiting a decision by the National People's Congress on the question of Hong Kong's electoral system, which is likely to lead to a hardening of the fronts on both sides. In advance of the NPC statement, radical activist groups are proposing to launch a civil disobedience... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1557149/occupy-central-activists-must-consider-price-pay-raising?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1557149/occupy-central-activists-must-consider-price-pay-raising?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Jul 2014 04:15:45 +0000 We could be approaching the end of an era. After 1945, the United Nations was set up with the intention of making war impossible by providing the world with a universally acknowledged dispute resolution mechanism. There would be no more unilateral shifting of borders under the threat or reality of force. The UN concept assigns equal status to all member states, from China with its nearly 1.4 billion population to Tuvalu with its 10,000. In the 21st century, however, the system is falling apart.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1517808/orwellian-echoes-post-un-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1517808/orwellian-echoes-post-un-world?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 May 2014 19:15:01 +0000 China cancelled the April 16 session of the bilateral human rights dialogue with Britain, accusing the UK of making irresponsible comments and of interference in its internal affairs. Let us remember how this dialogue came into being. Towards the end of the 1990s, Britain and its Western allies were seeking ways of normalising relations with China after the sharp downturn following the events of June 1989. This was important, because the united Western front was beginning to crack. Certain... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1494431/china-uk-human-rights-dialogue-builds-bridges-understanding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1494431/china-uk-human-rights-dialogue-builds-bridges-understanding?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Apr 2014 14:45:30 +0000 What are we to make of the mixed signals given by President Xi Jinping's leadership team on official corruption, and the enrichment of officials and their family, either directly at the state's expense or by extortion from business and the public? It was a nettle that Xi seemed keen to grasp at the very outset of his administration, announcing that "tigers" as well as "flies" would be caught up in the inexorable net of the party's disciplinary apparatus. And it cannot be denied that radical... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1480919/chinas-corruption-crackdown-few-fallen-giants-may-well-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1480919/chinas-corruption-crackdown-few-fallen-giants-may-well-be?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Apr 2014 20:28:38 +0000 The current contretemps over Ukraine and Crimea has brought Chinese strategic foreign policy to an unforeseen crossroads. China has hitherto made an absolute principled commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations. Whether one sees the events in Crimea as a forcible Russian land grab or as a democratic transfer of sovereignty (following the clear majority in the secession referendum on March 16), this clearly goes against principles that China has consistently... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/1456057/last-thing-china-needs-more-russian-border-instability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/1456057/last-thing-china-needs-more-russian-border-instability?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Mar 2014 10:30:15 +0000 Hong Kong has taken its first dip in the stormy waters of the diplomatic power game. Following an inadequate response by Philippines President Benigno Aquino to the incident in 2010, in which eight Hongkongers were killed in a badly handled gun battle, the Hong Kong government has announced that official and diplomatic Philippine passport holders - up to 800 visit the city each year - would no longer be allowed to benefit from a 14-day visa-free travel arrangement. The aim is to punish Filipino... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1436996/beijing-may-prefer-play-longer-game-manila-hostage-dispute?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1436996/beijing-may-prefer-play-longer-game-manila-hostage-dispute?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Feb 2014 06:15:30 +0000