Perspective on the Pandemic: British PM’s Ties With the Chinese Regime(2)
Tian Yun
April 17, 2020 Updated: April 21, 2020
Commentary
[Continuing from last post]
Johnson’s Interactions With the CCP as Mayor of London
In October 2013, Johnson led a trade delegation as the-then Mayor of London to go to China for a six-day visit. They met with China’s top entrepreneurs, major investors, and high-ranking officials, hoping to establish a closer cooperative relationship with China.
During his term as mayor, he promoted a partnership between London and Shanghai, two financial hubs. On June 17, 2019, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom made a joint announcement of their approval of the new Shanghai-London Stock Connect. On the same day, the inauguration ceremony was held in London.
According to the rules, eligible companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange would be able to issue Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) to the UK and global investors and apply for them to be listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market. Eligible companies listed on the London Stock Exchange would be able to issue Chinese Depository Receipts (CDRs) to Chinese investors and apply for them to be listed on the Main Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Some commentators pointed out that the establishment of the Shanghai-London Stock Connect is tantamount to a “blood transfusion” to support the CCP.
Post Brexit UK-China Relations
After the Johnson administration left the European Union, it naturally needed to find new trade partners. On the one hand, the UK maintains its friendship with the United States, but it is also eager to strengthen economic and trade ties with China. China has become its second largest trading partner outside the EU. From January to August 2018, the bilateral trade volume between China and Britain was as high as $51.05 billion.
From January to Aug. 23, 2019, Chinese companies completed 15 major acquisitions in the UK, worth approximately $8.3 billion. For example, Alibaba’s Ant Financial acquired London-headquartered payments company World First in February. Hillhouse Capital acquired the shares of the Scotch whisky brand Loch Lomond Group for 400 million pounds in June and became its largest shareholder.
In September last year, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange attempted to acquire the London Stock Exchange for $36.6 billion, but was rejected. The Chinese government is the largest shareholder of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and holds 6 seats among its 13 board members. It is foreseeable that if the acquisition was successful, the CCP would have control of the entire European financial market.
On Jan. 2, 2020, five sources told Reuters that the Chinese regime temporarily suspended the Shanghai-London Connect plan because of the British stance on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests and the UK’s response to the detention of a former employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong. The next day, the China Securities Regulatory Commission nonetheless claimed that Shanghai-London Connect was not affected.
In fact, the CCP is accustomed to using economic interests as a bargaining chip—to coerce Western governments and commercial enterprises to remain silent about the CCP’s violation of human rights.
Perhaps Johnson has not yet realized that the path of economic and trade cooperation with the CCP is extremely unstable. Any nation that partners with the CCP may be forced to give up its conscience at a certain point.
UK Politicians Criticize Johnson and His Family
On Feb. 22, 2020, Brexit Party leader Nigel Paul Farage published an article in Newsweek titled, “We Didn’t Free Britain from Brussel Only to Bow Before Beijing.” He opposed Johnson’s plan to allow Huawei to help build Britain’s 5G network and criticized him for inching closer to the CCP in recent years.
“Sadly, under Boris Johnson’s regime, not much appears to have changed. Just look at one of our key strategic industries, British Steel. It appears to have been sold to another Chinese firm, Jingye, despite competitive bids from other parts of the world. I believe that the same establishment that sold out our nation to the European Union is now selling us out to China,” Farage wrote.
He also pointed out that Johnson has been influenced by many pro-China figures, including members of his own family.
“Only a couple of weeks ago his father, Stanley, had a 90-minute meeting with the Chinese ambassador to London, Liu Xiaoming. Afterwards, Johnson Snr emailed UK officials outlining Xiaoming’s worries that his son Boris had failed to send a personal message of support after the coronavirus outbreak. This fascinating insight only became public because Johnson Snr accidentally copied the BBC into his message,” Farage wrote.
“Then there is Boris’s younger brother, Jo, who was Britain’s Universities Minister until 2019. During his time in post, he endorsed the University of Reading’s partnership with China’s Nanjing University, which specialises in—you guessed it—information, science and technology,” he added.
Farage exposed that the prime minister’s step-brother Max also has close ties with the Chinese regime. According to public information, Max Johnson got his MBA from Beijing University before working for Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong. He is now running his own investment company, which caters to firms that sell products to China.
The Epoch Times editorial article, “Where Ties With Communist China Are Close, the Coronavirus Follows,” points out that the CCP virus specifically targets the Chinese regime and those who support it. The spread of the virus around the world shows that countries and regions with close ties to the CCP have been seriously affected. The CCP is evil in nature. I hope Boris Johnson will learn a lesson from his illness and reflect on his policies.
Perspective on the Pandemic: British PM’s Ties With the Chinese Regime
Tian Yun
April 17, 2020 Updated: April 21, 2020
Commentary
[Continuing from last post]
Johnson’s Interactions With the CCP as Mayor of London
In October 2013, Johnson led a trade delegation as the-then Mayor of London to go to China for a six-day visit. They met with China’s top entrepreneurs, major investors, and high-ranking officials, hoping to establish a closer cooperative relationship with China.
During his term as mayor, he promoted a partnership between London and Shanghai, two financial hubs. On June 17, 2019, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom made a joint announcement of their approval of the new Shanghai-London Stock Connect. On the same day, the inauguration ceremony was held in London.
According to the rules, eligible companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange would be able to issue Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) to the UK and global investors and apply for them to be listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market. Eligible companies listed on the London Stock Exchange would be able to issue Chinese Depository Receipts (CDRs) to Chinese investors and apply for them to be listed on the Main Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
Some commentators pointed out that the establishment of the Shanghai-London Stock Connect is tantamount to a “blood transfusion” to support the CCP.
Post Brexit UK-China Relations
After the Johnson administration left the European Union, it naturally needed to find new trade partners. On the one hand, the UK maintains its friendship with the United States, but it is also eager to strengthen economic and trade ties with China. China has become its second largest trading partner outside the EU. From January to August 2018, the bilateral trade volume between China and Britain was as high as $51.05 billion.
From January to Aug. 23, 2019, Chinese companies completed 15 major acquisitions in the UK, worth approximately $8.3 billion. For example, Alibaba’s Ant Financial acquired London-headquartered payments company World First in February. Hillhouse Capital acquired the shares of the Scotch whisky brand Loch Lomond Group for 400 million pounds in June and became its largest shareholder.
In September last year, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange attempted to acquire the London Stock Exchange for $36.6 billion, but was rejected. The Chinese government is the largest shareholder of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and holds 6 seats among its 13 board members. It is foreseeable that if the acquisition was successful, the CCP would have control of the entire European financial market.
On Jan. 2, 2020, five sources told Reuters that the Chinese regime temporarily suspended the Shanghai-London Connect plan because of the British stance on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests and the UK’s response to the detention of a former employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong. The next day, the China Securities Regulatory Commission nonetheless claimed that Shanghai-London Connect was not affected.
In fact, the CCP is accustomed to using economic interests as a bargaining chip—to coerce Western governments and commercial enterprises to remain silent about the CCP’s violation of human rights.
Perhaps Johnson has not yet realized that the path of economic and trade cooperation with the CCP is extremely unstable. Any nation that partners with the CCP may be forced to give up its conscience at a certain point.
UK Politicians Criticize Johnson and His Family
On Feb. 22, 2020, Brexit Party leader Nigel Paul Farage published an article in Newsweek titled, “We Didn’t Free Britain from Brussel Only to Bow Before Beijing.” He opposed Johnson’s plan to allow Huawei to help build Britain’s 5G network and criticized him for inching closer to the CCP in recent years.
“Sadly, under Boris Johnson’s regime, not much appears to have changed. Just look at one of our key strategic industries, British Steel. It appears to have been sold to another Chinese firm, Jingye, despite competitive bids from other parts of the world. I believe that the same establishment that sold out our nation to the European Union is now selling us out to China,” Farage wrote.
He also pointed out that Johnson has been influenced by many pro-China figures, including members of his own family.
“Only a couple of weeks ago his father, Stanley, had a 90-minute meeting with the Chinese ambassador to London, Liu Xiaoming. Afterwards, Johnson Snr emailed UK officials outlining Xiaoming’s worries that his son Boris had failed to send a personal message of support after the coronavirus outbreak. This fascinating insight only became public because Johnson Snr accidentally copied the BBC into his message,” Farage wrote.
“Then there is Boris’s younger brother, Jo, who was Britain’s Universities Minister until 2019. During his time in post, he endorsed the University of Reading’s partnership with China’s Nanjing University, which specialises in—you guessed it—information, science and technology,” he added.
Farage exposed that the prime minister’s step-brother Max also has close ties with the Chinese regime. According to public information, Max Johnson got his MBA from Beijing University before working for Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong. He is now running his own investment company, which caters to firms that sell products to China.
The Epoch Times editorial article, “Where Ties With Communist China Are Close, the Coronavirus Follows,” points out that the CCP virus specifically targets the Chinese regime and those who support it. The spread of the virus around the world shows that countries and regions with close ties to the CCP have been seriously affected. The CCP is evil in nature. I hope Boris Johnson will learn a lesson from his illness and reflect on his policies.
Perspective on the Pandemic: British PM’s Ties With the Chinese Regime
