Afghanistan, Raab and Yi, Cambridge

A Beijing to Britain roundup

Aug 22, 2021

Hello,

Welcome to Beijing to Britain. As Parliament is still on recess, we will be producing shortened roundups of current stories and news like this throughout August and early September. Normal service resumes in September. Until then, these Briefings will be split as such:

Our focus: stories outside the headlines we’re keeping a close eye on
From the papers: widely reported news which you need to know
Outside the headlines: snippets of interest that caught our eye

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Our focus

Afghanistan

Parliament was recalled on Wednesday to discuss Afghanistan. Many of the more geopolitically focussed MPs used their speeches to highlight the role China may yet play. Mentioned 17 times throughout the afternoon, Beijing sat heavily on the minds of many in Westminster. Note former Prime Minister Theresa May’s comments concerning the withdrawal: “ Neither will China … have failed to notice the implications”. China Research Group member Alicia Kearns also added: “By recognising the Taliban, China has taken the first step towards creating an alternative international mechanism.”. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (under fire from Fleet Street for being MIA during the events) concluded that: “we must work to safeguard regional stability. That will require us to work with different partners, and it will require engagement with key regional players, including … China … however difficult, complex or outside of our comfort zone that may prove”. We’ll be interested to see how backbench anger towards Washington may manifest itself with regards to China policy.

Cambridge

As the warm glow of the ‘Golden Era’ fades into a cold chill, one institution that has found itself firmly in the spotlight is Cambridge University. Its perceived close relationship with China has come under scrutiny for a variety of reasons, not least because Sir Lord (Charles) Moore of the Spectator is an alumni and takes a keen interest in the issue. There’s also been some sharp journalism looking into Professor Peter Nolan, Director of the China Centre at Jesus College, and comments he made about avoiding debating the issue of Xinjiang. Given the Professor recently met with the Ambassador in London, it seems likely the scrutiny will continue.

Old friends, now enemies

The Chinese Embassy in London has been on somewhat of a crusade against the Telegraph as of late. First, a spokesperson offered remarks over an opinion piece titled ‘The craven West needs to stand up for Taiwan”'. They concluded “The Chinese side urges The Daily Telegraph to uphold international consensus and professional ethics of journalism, stop politicising sports and creating confusion on sovereignty issues. Your paper should live up to ethics and obligations and report on China in a fair and objective way.” It then published a long open letter to the paper following China reporter Sophie Yan’s article on Beijing’s efforts to contain the Delta variant. This much longer letter contains an interesting paragraph “What matters now is that we cannot sit by while Sophia Yan and her like continue spreading disinformation against China. Their problematic reports are preventing the British public and the international community from seeing the real China, disrupting global solidarity and cooperation in addressing urgent challenges, and undermining the goodwill between the Chinese people and people of the world, including the UK. Enough is enough! It is time to unveil their hypocrisy and stop them from vending lies.” A sad demise to a once fruitful relationship - after all, it was only last year that the Telegraph stopped allegedly receiving £750,000 a year to run ‘China Watch’ supplement, produced by state-owned newspaper China Daily.

From the papers

I’m picking up good relations

During a phone call between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his British counterpart Dominic Raab, the former expressed his pleasure that Sino-British relations were now showing “positive signs”. Wang also called on Britain to resist growing calls to boycott the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Parts of Twitter were unhappy over a picture of Raab on the phone with a Chinese flag behind him - as a side note, this is the diplomatic norm when Foreign Secretaries are having a chinwag with their counterparts. (See Raab’s call with India weeks earlier.)

Hong Kong

Three stories concerning Hong Kong this week, the last of which dropped under the radar. First, The Times reported that Ministers have been given intelligence that undercover agents are spying on dissidents coming and going from two centres in Hong Kong. Second, the Guardian notes that 600 UK churches of different denominations have signed up to be “Hong Kong Ready”, committing to welcoming Christians from Hong Kong into their church communities. One in 10 of new arrivals is estimated to be Christian. Third, and perhaps most shockingly, Hong Kong activist Andy Li pleaded guilty to taking part in a conspiracy to collude with foreign forces along with pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai. Li was kept in a cell in mainland China for months before his appearance in Hong Kong - his case has again drawn scrutiny on the National Security Law and its wide remit.

Outside the headlines

Guess who’s back

Defying the odds, Chinese state broadcaster CGTN have found a way back onto British television screens. CGTN had its broadcast licence in Britain revoked in February, and has been accused of airing forced confessions and torture in the past. A spokesperson said the resumption of CGTN broadcasting is in the British public interest and will enable exchanges of information, culture, mutual trust and cooperation between the Chinese and British peoples.

Embassy meeting

Worth noting Ambassador Zheng Zeguang’s meeting with Alistair Michie. Michie is currently Chair of the International Council of the Centre for China and Globalisation (CCG), the first Honorary Associate of the Needham Research Institute at Cambridge University and advisor to Hampton Group.

Beijing to Britain