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NEW: The Conservative party turns against China.Tory grandees including Chris Patten, Malcolm Rifkind and William Hague call for the UK to “reorientate” Sino–British relations after coronavirus.
My latest w/ @helenwarrell
and @Laura_K_Hughes https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
Many Tory MPs say the Golden Era is over:
"The pressure from our MPs and the public to punish China is huge. They are going to be blamed for the worst effects of this pandemic and we will have to shift our foreign policy to be more aligned to Trump’s” https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
"The pressure from our MPs and the public to punish China is huge. They are going to be blamed for the worst effects of this pandemic and we will have to shift our foreign policy to be more aligned to Trump’s” https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
Lord Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong, told the FT that the coronavirus crisis showed China is "dangerous for the whole world”:
"This can’t go back to the grovelling business as normal, which was signing up to ludicrously one-sided business deals” https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
"This can’t go back to the grovelling business as normal, which was signing up to ludicrously one-sided business deals” https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
Malcolm Rifkind, former foreign and defence sec, says the UK and others will "reorientate their foreign policy”:
“Its attempts to conceal coronavirus has raised questions of legitimacy among its own people, as we saw in the Soviet Union after Chernobyl.” https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
“Its attempts to conceal coronavirus has raised questions of legitimacy among its own people, as we saw in the Soviet Union after Chernobyl.” https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
Rifkind says the UK needs to boost domestic medicine production:
“It may be economically attractive to have a huge proportion of medicines produced in China. But coronavirus has shown there needs to be a total priority to produce these medicines at home" https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
“It may be economically attractive to have a huge proportion of medicines produced in China. But coronavirus has shown there needs to be a total priority to produce these medicines at home" https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
Patten cont: "We can’t simply shut our door, but we have to be much tougher with China across the board.
"Stand up to them when they break international law and when they have their hands in the till on technology transfer." https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
"Stand up to them when they break international law and when they have their hands in the till on technology transfer." https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
Former Tory leader @MPIainDS says the UK has become "dangerously dependent” on China:
“The root, branch and tree itself have to be completely reviewed. . .we are reaping the whirlwind we have sewn by being naively reliant on China." https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
“The root, branch and tree itself have to be completely reviewed. . .we are reaping the whirlwind we have sewn by being naively reliant on China." https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
. @TomTugendhat says the UK needs to pursue “co-operation and defence” with China:
“If we hadn’t declared a golden era with China, we certainly wouldn’t do it now. We wouldn’t have made visas easier for Chinese students or signed the Hinkley Point deal." https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
“If we hadn’t declared a golden era with China, we certainly wouldn’t do it now. We wouldn’t have made visas easier for Chinese students or signed the Hinkley Point deal." https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
What does the government think? Defence sec @BWallaceMP told MPs today he backs an investigation into the origins of coronavirus:
"The world will require transparency, the world will require co-operation.” https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
"The world will require transparency, the world will require co-operation.” https://www.ft.com/content/b1dfb7b5-5140-4408-abc0-7d0b7f783a58
