UK PM dials Chinese President, raises concern about 'erosion of democracy' in Hong Kong

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday, October 29, spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping on a phone call. During the phone conversation, the two heads of state discussed various issues, including climate crisis, global trade, economic cooperation and security and human rights, the UK Prime Minister's office said in a statement. Johnson raised concerns about the "erosion of democracy" in Hong Kong and human rights in Xinjiang. 

"The Prime Minister raised the United Kingdom’s concerns about the erosion of democracy in Hong Kong and human rights in Xinjiang," Britain Prime Minister's office said in a statement.

During the phone conversation, Johnson and Xi Jinping discussed security issues, including the situation in Afghanistan. Furthermore, the two sides acknowledged that there were areas of disagreement and difficulty in bilateral ties. China's President and Britain Prime Minister agreed to cooperate on areas of shared interest, which includes developing "clean and green technology". Moreover, they committed to supporting the "sustainable recovery of the global economy."

The UK Prime Minister acknowledged China’s new "Nationally Determined Contribution". Johnson welcomed the effort of China at the COP15 Biodiversity Summit. Moreover, the Britain PM stressed the importance of all countries in ramping up their ambition on climate change at COP26. Johnson highlighted that concrete steps need to be taken to cut emissions and accelerate the transition to renewable energy, which includes "phasing out coal".

"The Prime Minister acknowledged China’s new Nationally Determined Contribution and welcomed their work on the COP15 Biodiversity Summit, noting how critical protecting nature is to our overall climate objectives," Britain Prime Minister's office said in a statement.

Speaking just two days before the start of the United Nations COP26 summit scheduled to be held in Glasgow, Jinping told Boris Johnson that bringing down the emissions would require "extensive and profound economic and social changes", China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Jinping highlighted that China is determined to speed up green and low-carbon development. Furthermore, the Chinese President underscored that they have announced their target to peak carbon dioxide emissions and achieve carbon neutrality.  

The legislature has become more efficient without opposition

Andrew Leung, the president of Hong Kong’s legislature on Thursday, 30 October said that the legislature had become more efficient with no opposition members. Leung highlighted that this year, lawmakers have passed 46 government bills, more than double the number last year, according to AP. All pro-democracy lawmakers have resigned from the legislature after the ouster of four colleagues. Hong Kong authorities have arrested more than 120 people including several former opposition lawmakers under a National Security Law imposed by Beijing after months of anti-government protests, according to AP. Many pro-democracy activists have been put behind bars for participating in unauthorised protests.

Inputs from AP

Image: AP