Governments around the world are taking a cautious approach in responding to the protests roiling Hong Kong due to their ties to China. By lhinnant
FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2019, file photo, pro-China counter-protesters hold Chinese flags during an anti-extradition rally for Hong Kong in Vancouver. Governments around the world are taking a cautious approach to responding to the protests roiling Hong Kong. With the notable exception of Taiwan, cautious comments from a handful of governments fall short of support for the demonstrators.
“It’s really an anodyne statement,” Theresa Fallon, a researcher on EU-Asia relations, said of the one released by the EU and Canada. “Of course the Chinese knew that these statements would be made, but they cracked down right away. They have zero tolerance for that. ... Everyone is afraid to be punished by China.”In the early days of the protests, Trump described them as an internal matter.
“We are going to continue to call upon the Chinese government to respect the ‘one country, two systems’ agreement that they have long abided by,” he said earlier this week. South Korea is currently preoccupied with stalled negotiations on how to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons and trade disputes with Japan, and that could make Seoul even more reticent.
It didn’t directly refer to the United States but an earlier Rodong Sinmun commentary said that “the Western countries including the U.S. are using as a golden opportunity to defame China while raising the level of threat and blackmail against China.” At the same time, several nations have publicly complained of China’s efforts at expanding its influence, especially its ambitious territorial claims over the South China Sea at the expanse of Beijing’s smaller neighbors.The leaders of both Australia and New Zealand have been measured in their comments.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern denied she was constrained in what she could say about China, and said her country’s stand on the protest movement has been consistent. China is a key export market for New Zealand and has overtaken Australia as New Zealand’s largest trading partner. The agricultural-driven economy of New Zealand relies on selling billions of dollars’ worth of milk powder to China, which is used in infant formula.
An employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong has been missing since he was detained while crossing from the city of Shenzhen back into Hong Kong. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said he had no information about the highly unusual disappearance of the consular staff member.In Taiwan, support for the protests has been widespread, including among young Hong Kongers studying in the self-ruling democracy that China claims as its own territory.
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