The leader of Sinn Fein, the Irish republican political party historically associated with the Provisional IRA, has accepted an invitation from King Charles III to attend his coronation at Westminster.
“We are living in a time of great change. A time to respect our differing and equally legitimate aspirations, a time to firmly focus on the future and the opportunities that the next decade will bring,” O’Neill said in a statement.
“I am an Irish republican. I also recognise there are many people on our island for whom the coronation is a hugely important occasion. I am committed to being a first minister for all, representing the whole community, building good relations between the people of these islands, and advancing peace and reconciliation through respectful and mature engagement.”Her decision had underlined a stark move from Sinn Fein to distance itself from a previously strict republican stance.
Han Zheng, who is the new deputy to President Xi Jinping, is expected to fly to London next week for the ceremony, in a move that threatens a diplomatic storm.He was in charge of China’s response to demonstrations in Hong Kong in 2019 in which thousands of campaigners were arrested, many were injured and some were shot and killed.
At the time, Han described the demonstrations as “extreme and destructive acts” that would not be tolerated.that it was a “slap in the face” for Britain to host a man who had helped to “destroy one of the freest and most prosperous cities in Asia”.
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