Hong Kong protests: Jeremy Hunt warns China against 'repression' - BBC News

The UK foreign secretary has continued to warn China not to "repress" violent protesters in Hong Kong.

A group of activists occupied Hong Kong's parliament on Monday over a controversial extradition bill.

Jeremy Hunt told the BBC he "condemned all violence" but said the Chinese government should listen to the "root causes" of protesters' concerns.

It comes after China warned the UK not to "interfere in its domestic affairs" and labelled the UK "hypocritical".

Mr Hunt repeated his warning that China would face serious consequences if it failed to honour Hong Kong's high level of autonomy from Beijing.

"The heart of people's concerns has been that very precious thing that Hong Kong has had, which is an independent judicial system," Mr Hunt told Radio 4's Today programme.

"The United Kingdom view this situation very, very seriously," he added.

• The background you need on the Hong Kong protests
• Did Hong Kong violence sway public opinion?

China's ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Office on Wednesday following "unacceptable and inaccurate" remarks.

Liu Xiaoming said relations between China and the UK had been "damaged" by comments by Mr Hunt and others backing the demonstrators' actions.

He said those who illegally occupied the Legislative Council building and raised the colonial-era British flag should be "condemned as law breakers".

He added that it was "hypocritical" of UK politicians to criticise the lack of democracy and civil rights in Hong Kong when, under British rule, there had been no elections nor right to protest.

'Very serious'

In response to accusations he had sided with the protesters, Mr Hunt said: "I was not supporting the violence, what I was saying is the way to deal with that violence is not by repression."

"It is by understanding the root causes of the concerns of the demonstrators, that freedoms that they have had for their whole life could be about to be undermined by this new extradition law," he added.

Critics have said the extradition bill could be used to send political dissidents from Hong Kong to the mainland.

A think tank analyst branded the diplomatic row as a "very serious flaring up of tensions between Beijing and London".

Victor Gao, vice-president of the Centre for China and Globalisation in Beijing, called Monday's occupation of parliament "anarchism" adding "this is to be protested and to be condemned by any government leader with any level of conscience".

Mr Gao urged the UK to condemn the violence. He said the "crux of the matter" was "the UK no longer has a say in [how] Hong Kong should be run and managed".

A 1984 treaty between the UK and China paved the way for sovereignty over the territory to pass back to Beijing.

The Joint Declaration set out how the rights of Hong Kong citizens should be protected in the territory's Basic Law under Chinese rule.

Hong Kong has, since 1997, been run by China under an arrangement guaranteeing it a level of economic autonomy and personal freedoms not permitted on the mainland.

Mr Hunt said: "It is very important that the 'one country, two systems' approach is honoured."

The foreign secretary would not detail what consequences China might face if it did not honour the treaty, but said the UK had "always defended the values we believe in".

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48865907

2019-07-04 07:55:15Z
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Chinese state media says 'Western ideologues' to blame for Hong Kong unrest - Reuters

SHANGHAI/HONGKONG (Reuters) - Chinese state media blamed meddling by Western governments on Thursday for unrest in Hong Kong amid an escalating diplomatic spat between China and the United Kingdom over protests in the former British colony.

FILE PHOTO: Anti-extradition bill protesters stand behind a barricade during a demonstration near a flag raising ceremony for the anniversary of Hong Kong handover to China in Hong Kong, China July 1, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

“Ideologues in Western governments never cease in their efforts to engineer unrest against governments that are not to their liking, even though their actions have caused misery and chaos in country after country in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia,” the official China Daily said in an editorial.

“Now they are trying the same trick in China,” the English-language newspaper said.

Hundreds of protesters besieged and broke into the Hong Kong legislature on Monday after a demonstration marking the anniversary of the return to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that includes freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, including the right to protest.

That followed weeks of protests against a now-suspended extradition bill that opponents say would undermine Hong Kong’s much-cherished rule of law and give Beijing powers to prosecute activists in mainland courts, which are controlled by the Communist Party.

Hong Kong police have arrested more than two dozen people in connection with the protests. Investigators and forensics teams have been combing through evidence in the legislature and more arrests are expected.

Widespread damage inside the Legislative Council building, where protesters smashed furniture and daubed graffiti over chamber walls, forced the government to close it for two weeks.

The Legislative Council Commission is due to hold a closed-door special meeting at an undisclosed venue later on Thursday.

The China Daily accused Western forces of instigating unrest against Hong Kong’s government “as a means to put pressure on the central government”.

“The violent behavior that these Western agitators are emboldening tramples on the rule of law in Hong Kong and undermines its social order,” it said.

An editorial in the widely read tabloid The Global Times, published by the Communist Party’s People’s Daily, criticized comments by British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and said “the UK’s diplomacy toward China will pay for his behavior”.

Hunt warned on Tuesday of consequences if China did not abide by the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984 on the terms of the return of Hong Kong.

His comments were met by a sharp rebuke from China’s ambassador to the UK, who told Britain on Wednesday to keep its hands off Hong Kong.

Reporting by Andrew Galbraith in SHANGHAI and Anne Marie Roantree in HONG KONG; Editing by Paul Tait

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-extradition-china/chinese-state-media-says-western-ideologues-to-blame-for-hong-kong-unrest-idUSKCN1TZ03R

2019-07-04 01:29:00Z
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Boeing dedicates $100 million to victims of 737 Max crashes - CNN

The company said the money will be given to local nonprofits and community groups who will help distribute the funds. They'll be used to support education, including college tuition or other schooling expenses for children of victims, and "hardship or living expenses for impacted families," Boeing (BA) said in statement.

Victim families that accept funds from this pool of money will not be required to give up the right to pursue legal action against the company, a Boeing spokesperson said. The company is facing several lawsuits over the 737 Max incidences.

"We at Boeing are sorry for the tragic loss of lives in both of these accidents and these lives lost will continue to weigh heavily on our hearts and on our minds for years to come. The families and loved ones of those on board have our deepest sympathies, and we hope this initial outreach can help bring them comfort," said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing's chairman, president and CEO.

Boeing's 737 Max jets were grounded worldwide in March after one of the vehicles, flown by Ethiopian Airlines, crashed shortly after takeoff. It followed a crash in late 2018 of a 737 Max flown by Indonesian airline Lion Air.

The grounding has forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights, and it's not clear when the 737 Max, which is Boeing's top-selling plane, will be cleared to fly again.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/03/business/boeing-100-million-compensation-fund/index.html

2019-07-03 17:30:00Z
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Boeing dedicates $100 million to victims of 737 Max crashes - CNN

The company said the money will be given to local nonprofits and community groups who will help distribute the funds. They'll be used to support education, including college tuition or other schooling expenses for children of victims, and "hardship or living expenses for impacted families," Boeing (BA) said in statement.

Victim families that accept funds from this pool of money will not be required to give up the right to pursue legal action against the company, a Boeing spokesperson said. The company is facing several lawsuits over the 737 Max incidences.

"We at Boeing are sorry for the tragic loss of lives in both of these accidents and these lives lost will continue to weigh heavily on our hearts and on our minds for years to come. The families and loved ones of those on board have our deepest sympathies, and we hope this initial outreach can help bring them comfort," said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing's chairman, president and CEO.

Boeing's 737 Max jets were grounded worldwide in March after one of the vehicles, flown by Ethiopian Airlines, crashed shortly after takeoff. It followed a crash in late 2018 of a 737 Max flown by Indonesian airline Lion Air.

The grounding has forced airlines to cancel hundreds of flights, and it's not clear when the 737 Max, which is Boeing's top-selling plane, will be cleared to fly again.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/03/business/boeing-100-million-compensation-fund/index.html

2019-07-03 16:37:00Z
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Boeing promises $100 million to help families affected by deadly... - Reuters

FILE PHOTO: The Boeing logo is pictured at the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition fair (LABACE) at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil August 14, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker/File Photo

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Boeing Co on Wednesday promised $100 million to help families affected by the deadly crashes of the company’s 737 MAX planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

The multiyear payout is independent of lawsuits filed by families of the 346 people killed in the two crashes, which happened in October 2018 and March of this year, a Boeing spokesman said.

The funds will not go direct to the families, but will be given to local governments and non-profit organizations to help families with education and living expenses and to spur economic development in affected communities.

Boeing also said it will match any employee donations through December.

“The families and loved ones of those on board have our deepest sympathies, and we hope this initial outreach can help bring them comfort,” said Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg.

Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against Boeing by families of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crash victims. The company is in settlement talks over the Lion Air litigation and has separately offered to negotiate with families of Ethiopian Airlines victims, although some families have said they are not ready to settle.

Wednesday’s cash pledge comes as Boeing faces probes by global regulators and U.S. lawmakers over the development of the 737 MAX.

The company has been criticized for what some have seen as a clumsy response to the crashes. Muilenburg and other executives have said safety is Boeing’s priority and have vowed to learn from the crashes.

The 737 MAX was grounded worldwide in March, after the second crash. Boeing is working on a fix for software that has been identified as a common link in both crashes, which must be approved by U.S. air regulators before the 737 MAX can fly again.

Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Bill Rigby

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2019-07-03 15:37:00Z
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As Protests Rock Hong Kong, Xi Jinping’s View of History Shows He Will Dig In - The New York Times

BEIJING — When protesters in Hong Kong became more forceful on Monday, the People’s Daily reprised a recent speech of China’s leader, Xi Jinping, calling on party cadres to carry forward the struggle of the Communist revolution fought 70 years ago.

“We must overcome all kinds of difficulties, risks and challenges,” he said.

It was the latest signal that Mr. Xi has no intention of bowing to the protesters’ demands for greater rights. On the contrary, the storming of Hong Kong’s legislature on Monday night seems to have given ammunition to hard-liners and prompted the sharpest denunciations in Beijing so far, suggesting the ruling Communist Party’s patience was wearing thin.

“I think they have realized it is time to take measures” to restore order, Song Xiaozhuang, a professor in the Center for Basic Laws of Hong Kong and Macau at Shenzhen University, said in a telephone interview, referring to the authorities in Beijing.

“This does not mean there is no patience, or that they want to get it done promptly, but it does mean that they cannot wait for long.”

Mr. Xi has not publicly addressed the political tumult in Hong Kong. Nor have officials disclosed any options they might be considering. But there is little doubt about Mr. Xi’s convictions, which are shaped by history and a deeply felt sense of the perils of popular uprisings.

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Protesters used a steel cart to breach the doors of the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong on Monday.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

“I have heard him talk at length, and passionately, about the challenges of governing China, and the need to maintain order in order to keep the country together,” said Ryan L. Hass, a fellow at the Brookings Institution who served as the director for China at the National Security Council during the Obama administration.

He noted that the mass protests that toppled authoritarian governments in North Africa and the Middle East in 2011 coincided with Mr. Xi’s ascent to the presidency and were “seared into his brain.”

Mr. Xi’s stance is not without risks, but he has governed with a millenarian sense of destiny, regularly exhorting the Communist Party to return to its original mission to transform a once-humiliated nation into the global power it is meant to be.

While the events in Hong Kong have generated considerable sympathy for the protesters, forcing the city’s leader to back down and suspend the bill, Mr. Xi still has most of the advantages of power on his side.

Those include time and influence. The central government can still mobilize a vast network of supporters in Hong Kong, including civil servants and business people beholden to the central government, economically or politically.

In a last resort, there is also the Chinese military. Few analysts expect that Mr. Xi intends to use force, but few doubt that he would if security significantly deteriorated in the city.

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The newspaper of the People’s Liberation Army disclosed that troops from its Hong Kong garrison had conducted training exercises last week.CreditPeople's Liberation Army Daily

The People’s Liberation Army disclosed on Tuesday — certainly not by coincidence — that troops from its Hong Kong garrison had conducted training exercises last week. One photograph accompanying an article in the official military newspaper showed soldiers aboard a gunboat in Victoria Harbor, weapons drawn, with the city’s skyline in the background.

After weeks of relative restraint, officials in Beijing have also begun to warn of grave repercussions. A spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, warned that the defacing of the legislature was “a blatant challenge” to Beijing’s red line: its sovereignty over the territory.

The Global Times, a nationalist tabloid controlled by the Communist Party, called for “a zero-tolerance policy,” warning that more violence could open a Pandora’s box.

That the protests in Hong Kong took place shortly following the 30th anniversary of the bloody suppression of the protests in Tiananmen Square and other cities in China has only hardened official views. This year is also the anniversary of the popular movements that swept Eastern Europe in 1989, toppling not only the Berlin Wall but also, ultimately, the Soviet Union itself two years later.

“There has also been a tendency to present these struggles — and Tiananmen was presented this way — as not being spontaneous expressions of the popular will,” Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine, wrote in an email, “even in cases when that is clearly what they are.” Rather, he wrote, Beijing describes such protests as “illegitimate efforts by small sets of malcontents spurred on by mysterious foreign forces.”

Mr. Xi, who has steadily amassed greater power than any Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, is acutely aware of that history.

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Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Hong Kong on Monday.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

“Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate?” he asked in a secret speech in 2013 that later leaked. “Why did the Soviet Communist Party collapse? An important reason was that their ideals and convictions wavered.”

He belittled the Soviet leader, Mikhail S. Gorbachev, for allowing it to happen on his watch. “In the end, nobody was a real man,” he said then.

Weeks before the bloody crackdown protests in Tiananmen in 1989, Mr. Xi delivered a warning about the folly of popular mass movements, according to research by Joseph Torigian, an assistant professor at American University in Washington who is currently writing a book about Mr. Xi’s father.

“This kind of ‘big democracy’,” Mr. Torigian quoted Mr. Xi as saying then, “‘is not in accord with science, not in accord with the rule of law, but is instead in accord with superstition, in accord with stupidity, and the result is chaos.’” Mr. Xi, a city official at the time, was speaking of the Cultural Revolution, but the message carries resonance today.

“Without stability and unity, nothing is possible!”

As the party’s leader, he has sought to extend its grip over virtually every corner of Chinese society, underscoring his view that stability can only be by eliminating threats to the party’s rule.

Hong Kong has become such a symbol of China’s success in reclaiming “lost” territory, Julian G. Ku, a law professor at Hofstra University, said, that the government today would be “loathe to admit any kind of limits to its sovereignty of this territory, lest it tarnish its success in recovering.”

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Protesters who stormed Hong Kong’s legislature on Monday left pictures of local officials.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

When Britain’s foreign minister this week called on China to honor its commitments under the treaty that ceded British control of the city in 1997, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointedly replied that Britain no longer had any say in the matter.

Mr. Ku, who has written on China’s adherence to the treaty, said the spokesman’s bluntness was striking. “They might have always had this legal position but they never, as far as I recall, said this sort of thing out loud.”

Allowing Hong Kong a greater degree of autonomy over its own affairs, as even some pro-Beijing lawmakers suggested, could open the Pandora’s box, the Global Times warned. Hard-liners would argue that it would be seen as rewarding civil disobedience, which security officials on the mainland act quickly to snuff out, at times ruthlessly.

To be sure, Mr. Xi’s record of increasingly authoritarian rule — not least the detention of more than 1 million Muslims in Xinjiang — has raised alarms internationally about the direction he is taking China.

In Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing also considers part of China, the unrest in Hong Kong has further undermined the appeal that Mr. Xi made in January to unify under the same “one country, two systems” arrangement.

President Tsai Ing-wen, who is seeking re-election next January, has styled herself as a defender of Taiwan’s sovereignty. Her standing in the polls rose following the Hong Kong police’s heavy-handed response to protesters on June 12.

The protesters’ brief siege of the city’s Legislative Council had echoes of the much longer occupation of Taiwan’s Parliament in 2014, which helped catapult Ms. Tsai to the presidency.

Mr. Wasserstrom said that the Communist Party’s old saying, “Today, Hong Kong; Tomorrow, Taiwan,” now “has a very ominous meaning.”

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/03/world/asia/xi-jinping-hong-kong.html

2019-07-03 15:03:13Z
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Iran's Rouhani defies US by upping uranium output - The Sun

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RqdNrg6VLg

2019-07-03 14:52:57Z
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