The China Thread

[Sheilbh]

China is building a massive new embassy in London in Royal Mint Court - there's a pleasing historical symmetry in China's embassy occupying the building that was the destination of the huge silver payments the UK extracted by force from the Qing dynasty. Like the new US embassy in Nine Elms, it's a really big development:


It is, however, in Tower Hamlets and Tower Hamlets council in government by troling news have voted to consider renaming all the streets around the new Chinese embassy. They would now be named: Tiananmen Square, Uyghur Court, Hong Kong Road and Tibet Hill

I think part of the issue here may be that I think there's been quite a lot of protests in Bangladesh and in the Bengali community in the UK over Xinjiang and Tower Hamlets has a large Bengali community. Bangladeshi politics has quite a big impact in the borough - mainly, though not always, within the Labour party - so I imagine it probably also doesn't help that Bangladesh and China aren't super close. Bangladesh is quite selective of which Belt and Road projects it will allow. Plus China's close to Burma so I wonder iof they're maybe a little tainted with the Rohingya genocide.

Local councils in the UK have form for this - I think Glasgow renamed the street the South African consulate was on as Nelson Mandela Avenue in the 80s

[Tamas]

They did the same in Budapest around the area where the government planned to sponsor building of student accommodations but instead sold the land to a Chinese state university.

[Jacob]

I appreciate the sentiment

Not that they're taking suggestions from me, but I think calling Tiananmen Square something like "June 4th Square" would work  better. No Chinese official noses are going to be out of joint over something called Tiananmen Square, I don't think, not anymore than an American would be upset about a place called "Washington Square" or "Washington Mall".

[Sheilbh]

I agree. Maybe they should install one of the memorial statues that have been taken down in Hong Kong

[Jacob]

I agree. Maybe they should install one of the memorial statues that have been taken down in Hong Kong

That would be brilliant.

[Josquius]

I approve.

I'll particularly laugh if they respond in kind and the British reaction is "yes.".

[HVC]

China says that omicron introduced to China by mail from Canada. Going so far as to spread the rumor that it was done on purpose.

https://www.businessinsider.com/weibo-canada-mail-covid-19-omicron-poison-beijing-winter-olympics-2022-1

[Valmy]

How ironic.

[Josquius]

When a country proclaims Canada its arch enemy you know that country is the baddies.

[Jacob]

Apparently Slovenia is thinking of poking the panda and opening a trade relations office with Taiwan (rather than Taipei)... which is, as you recall, the reason China is so angry with Lithuania.

[viper37]

I appreciate the sentiment

Not that they're taking suggestions from me, but I think calling Tiananmen Square something like "June 4th Square" would work  better. No Chinese official noses are going to be out of joint over something called Tiananmen Square, I don't think, not anymore than an American would be upset about a place called "Washington Square" or "Washington Mall".

"Benedict Arnold Square" might elicit some kind of reaction, though.

[Valmy]

I appreciate the sentiment

Not that they're taking suggestions from me, but I think calling Tiananmen Square something like "June 4th Square" would work  better. No Chinese official noses are going to be out of joint over something called Tiananmen Square, I don't think, not anymore than an American would be upset about a place called "Washington Square" or "Washington Mall".

"Benedict Arnold Square" might elicit some kind of reaction, though.

I don't know. I think feelings have cooled. After all he did win Saratoga.

[Sheilbh]

Apparently Slovenia is thinking of poking the panda and opening a trade relations office with Taiwan (rather than Taipei)... which is, as you recall, the reason China is so angry with Lithuania.

I think they've gone further. The Slovenian PM said that whether or not to declare independence is a sovereign decision for the Taiwanese people

I find the small Eastern European countries poking China an interesting trend. I''m not sure how much of it is because they know they can't win the argument on China within the EU, so they're forcing the pace. They provoke China, China overreacts, that forces the EU to take a harder line to protect a member state.

I did see one article quoting a senior Brussels figure that everyone was getting a little bit sick of Lithuania. They read it as Lithuania trying to signal that they're on the US's side to help keep the US engaged in the Baltics, so it was all for the benefit of Lithuania-US relations. But, in that figures view, it was at the expense of the rest of Europe's relationship with China which was seen as very frustrating.

[Jacob]

I think they've gone further. The Slovenian PM said that whether or not to declare independence is a sovereign decision for the Taiwanese people

Which it is. Good on him.

Just like it is the sovereign decision of the people of Quebec, the people of Greenland, the people of Scotland, and so on whether to declare independence or not.

I find the small Eastern European countries poking China an interesting trend. I''m not sure how much of it is because they know they can't win the argument on China within the EU, so they're forcing the pace. They provoke China, China overreacts, that forces the EU to take a harder line to protect a member state.

I did see one article quoting a senior Brussels figure that everyone was getting a little bit sick of Lithuania. They read it as Lithuania trying to signal that they're on the US's side to help keep the US engaged in the Baltics, so it was all for the benefit of Lithuania-US relations. But, in that figures view, it was at the expense of the rest of Europe's relationship with China which was seen as very frustrating.

I was wondering what the impetus was... I mean, I get the moral imperative but that's typically not that weighty. Aligning more closely with the US makes sense.

[Josquius]

Switzerland should have a referendum on recognising Taiwan. Unlikely to succeed but I'm sure there's enough people willing to sign to put it to the ballot. Or would its rejection help China?