The countries of the free world may have more influence than people think in confronting the tyrannical behavior of the Chinese Communist regime, Britain’s Sir Ian Duncan Smith said March 4.
Referring to an amendment he supported to stop bilateral trade with genocidal countries, the former Conservative leader said the Chinese Communist Party‘s human rights record was “appalling.
“The current Chinese Communist government is quite brutal, both to its neighbors and to its own people, whether it’s Hong Kong, Tibet, Uighurs, Inner Mongolians, Falun Gong, Christians,” he said. “They have a very poor record of both appalling human rights abuses and what we believe to be possible genocide.”
He added that the Chinese regime’s relations with other countries have been “thoroughly bullying,” citing the Communist Party’s sanctions against Australia, provocations on the Indian border and aggression in the South China Sea, and support for the Burmese military.
Dependence on China must end
Duncan Smith said the Chinese Communist Party has been able to get away with “a lot of punishment” because of the free world’s dependence on China. He added, “Because so many people are dependent on China, they look the other way and turn a blind eye. They said …… I don’t think you should do this, but they didn’t do anything.”
Duncan Smith said countries in the free world have traded heavily with China over the past 10 years. Western investment in turn has given the Chinese Communist Party the ability to invest and influence developing countries through the Belt and Road and other routes.
He also said that the goal of “carbon neutrality” also gives the Chinese Communist regime a huge advantage.
(Translator’s note: Carbon neutrality means that the total amount of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emissions produced directly or indirectly by a country, enterprise, product, activity or individual over a certain period of Time is offset by its own carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emissions in the form of afforestation, energy conservation and emission reduction to achieve a positive or negative offset and achieve relative “zero emissions.
The world’s largest producer of batteries is China; the owner of most rare earth materials …… and the producer, and in the long run, the largest producer is China,” he said.
“These are the materials we use to build machines now. Batteries, telephones …… all sophisticated electronic equipment. Again, China is the dominant player in this market.”
Duncan Smith said the Chinese Communist authorities “are quite clever in making sure that everybody is very dependent on them.” As a result, he believes that the West’s “dependence on China must end, because the Chinese government is an intolerant government, a dictatorship and an abuse of power.”
The influence of the free world is greater than we think
Duncan Smith said of the National Security Strategy Committee’s hearing on the need for more “longer-term strategic thinking” in the U.K. to prepare for a potential crisis. “Couldn’t agree more.”
“As the government will allow huawei access to 5G systems, we will have to face a fight between Huawei and the government.” He said.
Beyond that, “we need to put aside this idea that ‘the Chinese government is too big to handle’ and actually ask ourselves the question: do we want things to change or not?” Duncan Smith said.
“We should always stand up and say no to the ‘very dangerous’ behavior of the Chinese Communist Party,” he said. “We learned a lesson from the 1930s that if you don’t bring it up early, things can get worse.”
Duncan Smith added that he doesn’t think China’s aggression against its neighbors will necessarily escalate into a hot war because “we have more influence in the free world than we think” to prevent conflict from escalating.
“The fact is that the Chinese government knows one very important thing: they need the free world to continue to trade with them.” He said.
“China knows it must grow at more than 5.5 percent a year to avoid economic stagnation.” He added that trade and investment, mainly from the West, had contributed to the growth of China’s middle class, and that a slowdown would exacerbate the Communist regime’s “internal problems.
“We have more influence in the free world than we think, and for those who think otherwise, I think they’re mistaken,” he said. He said.
“We should use that influence to show China (the Communist Party) that you can’t abuse the free market and everything else while abusing the free market, abusing the rules-based order, ignoring the public Perception and acting in a bullying way.”
The Family‘s connection to China
“Some people don’t like what I say, they always say: you don’t know anything about China, you have nothing to do with China.”
But in reality, his interest in China stems in part from his family’s deep-rooted ties to the country.
“My great-grandfather started a business in China and did business in China.” “My grandfather helped establish the postal system under Sun Yat-sen, and my grandmother was born and lived in China,” he told reporters.
“My mother and uncle were born and lived in China. My uncle spoke Mandarin and Cantonese and worked with the Allied forces in Chungking during the war to defeat The Japanese and drive them out of China. So my family ties go back a long way in China.”
He has “great respect” for China and “great love” for it. He said, “I am addressing the actions of the current rather arrogant, authoritarian Chinese government, not the Chinese people.”
The days of turning a blind eye are “gone”
Britain and other countries in the free world are waking up to the fact that the days of turning a blind eye (to the Chinese Communist Party) are over.
“I can’t predict what will happen in the future, but I do know that there are a growing number of MPs, both in the House of Lords and in the House of Commons, who are very worried.” He said, “We are not alone.”
He founded the Transnational Parliamentary Policy Alliance on China (IPAC) in June 2020. With its newest member, Ireland, joining on Feb. 27, IPAC now represents 20 legislatures “from Japan to the United States,” he said.
These legislators are currently worried about China (the Chinese Communist Party). Gone are the days of “turning a blind eye,” he said.
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