beijingwalker
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Which Countries Support China on Hong Kong’s National Security Law?
A recent U.N. statement saw 54 countries backing China’s Hong Kong policy, against 39 voicing concern in a rival bloc.
October 09, 2020
On Tuesday, the United Nations was treated to another clash between China’s critics and its supporters. As my colleague Catherine Putz noted, on October 6 “German Ambassador Christoph Heusgen presented a statement to the U.N., within the context of the General Assembly’s Third Committee (on Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Issues) on behalf of 39 countries,” criticizing China for “the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the recent developments in Hong Kong.” China had two of its staunchest supporters, Pakistan and Cuba, lined up to refute those remarks immediately afterward, by giving their own lists of countries backing China.
Interestingly, while the German bloc was united in calling themselves “gravely concerned” about both issues, China had to divide its supporters into two groups: countries that explicitly backed its Hong Kong policy and countries that supported its Xinjiang policy. As you would expect, there is a great deal of overlap between those two, but the differences are telling. (Putz gives an overview of the Xinjiang signatories in her analysis, along with a comparison to the 2019 lists of countries expressing concern vs. support.)
For reference, here are the two blocs:
Heusgen listed 39 countries expressing concern about China’s Hong Kong policy: Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nauru, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
In response, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Munir Akram, read a statement from a group of 54* countries backing China’s Hong Kong policy: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, China, Comoros, Congo, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Grenada, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Laos, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Russia, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
A recent U.N. statement saw 54 countries backing China’s Hong Kong policy, against 39 voicing concern in a rival bloc.
October 09, 2020
On Tuesday, the United Nations was treated to another clash between China’s critics and its supporters. As my colleague Catherine Putz noted, on October 6 “German Ambassador Christoph Heusgen presented a statement to the U.N., within the context of the General Assembly’s Third Committee (on Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Issues) on behalf of 39 countries,” criticizing China for “the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the recent developments in Hong Kong.” China had two of its staunchest supporters, Pakistan and Cuba, lined up to refute those remarks immediately afterward, by giving their own lists of countries backing China.
Interestingly, while the German bloc was united in calling themselves “gravely concerned” about both issues, China had to divide its supporters into two groups: countries that explicitly backed its Hong Kong policy and countries that supported its Xinjiang policy. As you would expect, there is a great deal of overlap between those two, but the differences are telling. (Putz gives an overview of the Xinjiang signatories in her analysis, along with a comparison to the 2019 lists of countries expressing concern vs. support.)
For reference, here are the two blocs:
Heusgen listed 39 countries expressing concern about China’s Hong Kong policy: Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Monaco, Nauru, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
In response, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Munir Akram, read a statement from a group of 54* countries backing China’s Hong Kong policy: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, China, Comoros, Congo, Cuba, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Grenada, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Laos, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Russia, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
