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London: What does the chair of the Australian Parliament's intelligence committee have in common with a German Greens MP, a former Japanese defence minister and a former Liberal Canadian attorney-general?
The answer is China.
Australian MPs, Liberal Andrew Hastie and Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching (top left) are co-chairing the Australian branch of the inter-parliamentary Alliance on China, formed by former UK Tory party leader Iain Duncan Smith (second left on the bottom). MPs from eight countries and the European Parliament are joining forces, demanding their governments take a stronger and coordinated stance on China.
A group of 19 MPs from eight countries and the European Parliament, representing a swathe of parties from across the political spectrum have announced a new international coalition of legislators who want their governments to take a tougher and collective stance towards China.
The founder of the group — former Tory party leader Iain Duncan Smith — said the business community should also take notice of the new international coalition of legislators, singling out HSBC bank for its "appalling" backing of China's new security law cracking down on Hong Kong.
"They will be in the firing line," Duncan Smith told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
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Victorian Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching and Liberal MP and chair of Parliament's intelligence committee, Andrew Hastie, are co-chairing the Australian branch.
Kitching said it was "heartening" to be joining forces with "like-minded parliamentarians".
"The world is seeing an increasingly assertive China; and in Australia, we have become increasingly aware that the way we deal with authoritarian regimes cannot be the same as the way we deal with democracies," the senator said.
Miriam Lexmann, a Member of the European Parliament from the centre-right EPP, said the EU's foreign policy towards the People's Republic of China had to be "values-based" if the EU was to have any credibility at home and abroad.
He said Beijing's aggressive wolf-warrior diplomacy and economic intimidation towards Australia had accelerated the need for the group, with many of the represented countries still forming their China policy.
Duncan Smith said China's actions in the South China Sea and crackdown in Hong Kong since the pandemic had shown the West that it was dealing with a new posture from Chinese President Xi Jinping and must adapt fast.
"There was a chain of events signalling quite a significant change in direction from the Xi government in that they were no longer interested in general diplomacy but were using their power to intimidate different nations," he said.
"No one country now honestly reviews all of this alone ... it can't be left to one country," he said.
UK reviews Huawei decision in the wake of coronavirus pandemic
He was adamant that the international coalition should be extended beyond the Five Eyes Anglo-Saxon intelligence sharing club comprising the UK, Australia, US, New Zealand and Canada.
Duncan Smith has been at the forefront of the backbench rebellion against Prime Minister Boris Johnson's green light for Chinese vendor Huawei to supply Britain's 5G networks.
That decision is facing likely defeat in the Commons by government backbenchers; to prevent a humiliating loss, Johnson has now subjected his January decision to a new review ahead of an expected smackdown.
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Duncan Smith also warned business leaders to take notice of the grouping.
This week, HSBC backed China's new security law for Hong Kong, which Britain says is a violation of the 1984 Britain and China signed, guaranteeing Hong Kong's autonomy from Beijing.
"We respect and support laws and regulations that will enable HK to recover and rebuild the economy and, at the same time, maintain the principle of 'one country two systems'," a company statement said.
He said Conservative MPs had expressed "fury" with the UK-headquartered bank on the group WhatsApp chat.
"What I would say to HSBC is that you have greater responsibilities than just to your bottom line. The people of HK are crying out for support in terms of this challenge and the first thing you do is say 'no actually, we're siding with the oppressors.'"
MPs in Australia have complained that some business leaders are appeasing China's actions and undermining the government's foreign policy, which enjoys bipartisan support.
Co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China:
The answer is China.
Australian MPs, Liberal Andrew Hastie and Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching (top left) are co-chairing the Australian branch of the inter-parliamentary Alliance on China, formed by former UK Tory party leader Iain Duncan Smith (second left on the bottom). MPs from eight countries and the European Parliament are joining forces, demanding their governments take a stronger and coordinated stance on China.
A group of 19 MPs from eight countries and the European Parliament, representing a swathe of parties from across the political spectrum have announced a new international coalition of legislators who want their governments to take a tougher and collective stance towards China.
The founder of the group — former Tory party leader Iain Duncan Smith — said the business community should also take notice of the new international coalition of legislators, singling out HSBC bank for its "appalling" backing of China's new security law cracking down on Hong Kong.
"They will be in the firing line," Duncan Smith told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
RELATED ARTICLE
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
New strategic agreement with India signed to counter China's influence
Victorian Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching and Liberal MP and chair of Parliament's intelligence committee, Andrew Hastie, are co-chairing the Australian branch.
Kitching said it was "heartening" to be joining forces with "like-minded parliamentarians".
"The world is seeing an increasingly assertive China; and in Australia, we have become increasingly aware that the way we deal with authoritarian regimes cannot be the same as the way we deal with democracies," the senator said.
Miriam Lexmann, a Member of the European Parliament from the centre-right EPP, said the EU's foreign policy towards the People's Republic of China had to be "values-based" if the EU was to have any credibility at home and abroad.
He said Beijing's aggressive wolf-warrior diplomacy and economic intimidation towards Australia had accelerated the need for the group, with many of the represented countries still forming their China policy.
Duncan Smith said China's actions in the South China Sea and crackdown in Hong Kong since the pandemic had shown the West that it was dealing with a new posture from Chinese President Xi Jinping and must adapt fast.
"There was a chain of events signalling quite a significant change in direction from the Xi government in that they were no longer interested in general diplomacy but were using their power to intimidate different nations," he said.
"No one country now honestly reviews all of this alone ... it can't be left to one country," he said.
UK reviews Huawei decision in the wake of coronavirus pandemic
He was adamant that the international coalition should be extended beyond the Five Eyes Anglo-Saxon intelligence sharing club comprising the UK, Australia, US, New Zealand and Canada.
Duncan Smith has been at the forefront of the backbench rebellion against Prime Minister Boris Johnson's green light for Chinese vendor Huawei to supply Britain's 5G networks.
That decision is facing likely defeat in the Commons by government backbenchers; to prevent a humiliating loss, Johnson has now subjected his January decision to a new review ahead of an expected smackdown.
TIANANMEN SQUARE MASSACRE
Activists in Hong Kong defy ban to mark anniversary of Tiananmen Square massacre
Duncan Smith also warned business leaders to take notice of the grouping.
This week, HSBC backed China's new security law for Hong Kong, which Britain says is a violation of the 1984 Britain and China signed, guaranteeing Hong Kong's autonomy from Beijing.
"We respect and support laws and regulations that will enable HK to recover and rebuild the economy and, at the same time, maintain the principle of 'one country two systems'," a company statement said.
He said Conservative MPs had expressed "fury" with the UK-headquartered bank on the group WhatsApp chat.
"What I would say to HSBC is that you have greater responsibilities than just to your bottom line. The people of HK are crying out for support in terms of this challenge and the first thing you do is say 'no actually, we're siding with the oppressors.'"
MPs in Australia have complained that some business leaders are appeasing China's actions and undermining the government's foreign policy, which enjoys bipartisan support.
Co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China:
- Australia: Liberal MP Andrew Hastie and Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching
- United Kingdom: Labour peer Baroness Helena Kennedy and Conservative MP Iain Duncan-Smith
- United States: Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democrat Senator Robert Menendez
- Germany: Greens MP Margarete Bause and Christian Democratic Union MP Michael Brand
- Japan: Independent MP Shiori Yamao and Liberal Democrat MP Gen Nakatani
- Canada: Conservative MP Garnett Genuis, Liberal MP John McKay and former Liberal attorney-general Irwin Cotler
- Norway: Liberal leader Trine Skei Grande and Conservative MP Michael Tetzschner
- Sweden: Liberal People's Party MP Fredrik Malm and Christian Democrats Councillor Elisabet Lann
- The European Parliament: Green MEP Reinhard Bütikofer and European People's Party MP Miriam Lexmann
