Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CHINA: CRISIS POINT
» Uighur ‘holocaust’ » Extraditions axed » It’s now ‘cold war’
THE UK’S relations with China hit crisis point as Dominic Raab warned yesterday we will not “buck and bow” to the sabrerattling communist state.
The Foreign Secretary joined MPS in condemning Beijing’s alleged persecution of Uighur Muslims – appearing to compare it with the Holocaust.
He slapped an arms embargo on Hong Kong. He also suspended our extradition treaty with the former British colony over a new security law imposed by China as it continues its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
The heightened tensions came after China accused the West of sparking a new “cold war” and threatened “a response” – singling out the UK for freezing tech firm Huawei out of our 5G network.
Saying he was braced for retaliation over Hong Kong, Mr Raab said: “We are absolutely clear, we will not – certainly in relation to Hong Kong but also more generally – we will not buck and bow.
“We will look for the positive but we will prepare for the resilience of our economy, our security and indeed the resilience of our values.”
Mr Raab and Prime Minister Boris Johnson will today meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who flew in last night.
Collapsing relations with China are expected to top the agenda. MPS yesterday rounded on Beijing in an hour-long debate, highlighting the plight of the Uighur minority in China’s Xinjiang region.
Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming denies reports Uighur women are being sterilised to cut the population. On TV this week, he was confronted with footage appearing to show blindfolded Uighurs being marched to trains.
It is also claimed authorities are selling Uighur hair on the internet.
Tory MP Neil O’brien told the Commons: “Whether it’s pictures of Uighur children separated from parents or the horrifying footage of Uighurs in chains herded off the trains and into camps, or news the Chinese government is selling the hair of Uighurs, many things are reminiscent of the darkest moments of 20th century history.
“The only way to stand up to a regime becoming more bullying is to confront them now.”
Mr Raab – whose Jewish father fled the Nazis and whose greatgrandparents were murdered in the Holocaust – added that there were “harrowing echoes of what we have seen in the past”.
The Foreign Secretary confirmed we will shelve extradition arrangements with Hong Kong in a “reasonable and proportionate” response to China’s new national security law. It gives mainland authorities “the ability to assume jurisdiction over certain cases and try those cases in mainland courts”.
An arms embargo on China since 1989’s Tiananmen Square massacre will also be extended to Hong Kong as a result of the new law. Mr Raab told MPS: “There will be no exports of potentially lethal weapons. It will also ban equipment which might be used for internal repression, such as shackles and smoke grenades.”
The UK previously said holders of British National (Overseas) passports in Hong Kong will get extended rights to join a path to citizenship. More details will be set out this week. In addition to cutting Huawei out of the 5G network, there are calls for Chinese firms to be blocked from developing nuclear power stations. Mr Xiaoming said this week: “People say China is becoming very aggressive. That’s totally wrong.
“It’s Western countries, headed by United States, they started this... new Cold War on China.”
He also accused Britain of “dancing to America’s tune”.