Nick Clegg, the British Deputy Prime Minister, was the only senior minister to agree to meet with Anson Chan, the last Chief Secretary of colonial Hong Kong, and Martin Lee, the founder of the Hong Kong Democratic Party. The two advocates wanted to lobby the UK government to take a stronger stance for democracy in Hong Kong, which was once their colony, reports the Guardian.
Both David Cameron, the Prime Minister, and George Osborne refused to meet with Chan and Lee. Osborne is the Chancellor of the Exchequer (fancy British-speak for the minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters), one of the most senior politicians in the UK.
A source told the Guardian: “Nick is pretty nonplussed to find himself as the only leading member of the coalition government prepared to uphold the human rights commitments made to Hong Kong by two leading Conservatives – John Major [the Prime Minister at the time of the Handover] and Chris Patten [the last Governor of colonial Hong Kong]. The Conservative leadership have become so deferential in their attitude to China that they will not give these assurances themselves”.
The source continued to say that this is the first British government to have not stood up for Hong Kong’s democracy since 1997. Speaking to the Financial Times, Chan said it was remarkable that the UK has seemed to let onlookers refer to Beijing’s white paper on Hong Kong’s governance, instead of “taking a stance on the content”.
Clegg made a statement saying that “the UK remains fully committed to the joint declaration and we will not shy away from defending the principle of ‘one country, two systems’.” He also said that “the best way to preserve Hong Kong’s strengths and to ensure that it continues to prosper is through a transition to universal suffrage which meets the aspirations of the people of Hong Kong”.
Photo: by David Spender via Wikimedia Commons
