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Sep 14 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
"This is not only a war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine... it's the war on our values, a war on our future, it's about autocracy against democracy," Ursula von der Leyen's #SOTEU speech, the day before Xi-Putin expected to meet in Uzbekistan.
Citing China's dominance of rare earth minerals and lithium markets, Von der Leyen announces a "European Critical Raw Materials Act".

"We need to avoid finding ourselves stuck in the kind of dependence we now see with oil & gas."

"We need to learn from mistakes of the past"
VDL announces a "defence of democracy pact", citing Chinese funding for disinfo on Xinjiang at uni in Amsterdam

Will target "covert foreign influence", "shady funding"

"We won't allow autocracies' Trojan horses to attack our democracies from within."

theguardian.com/world/2022/jan…
Story: EU to take on China’s dominance of minerals to avoid ‘mistakes of the past’

scmp.com/news/china/dip…

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More from @fbermingham

Finbarr Bermingham Profile picture
Sep 13
EU top diplomat Josep Borrell now addressing EP on Taiwan.

Before this, speaking on Ukraine, he reiterated that China has said it will not arm Russia.

"China has always kept a very clear position on this. And this is that they would not give any military assistance to Russia"
Borrell continued: "North Korea is outside our control but where China is concerned, always in every single meeting we've had they have been quite clear. They were not planning to provide any military assistance to Russia. If there's any other country doing that, I know not."
Now on Taiwan, Borrell says reaction of Beijing to Pelosi's visit "didn't come as a surprise".

"To be clear, visits to Taiwan should not provoke military drills or missile launches, or be used as an occasion to intimidate."
Read 9 tweets
Finbarr Bermingham Profile picture
Sep 12
6 African heads of state, inc head of African Union went to a summit in Rotterdam to raise funds for Africa's climate projects

Only one EU leader did, the Dutch PM

“This leaves a bad taste in our mouths. I'm a bit disappointed to be honest," @Macky_Sall

scmp.com/news/china/dip…
@Macky_Sall Macky Sall, head of the African Union: "I can't help but note, with some bitterness, the absence of leaders from the industrial world. I think if we made the effort to leave Africa to come to Rotterdam, it would be easier for the Europeans and others to be here."
Seems another example of initiative fatigue from Europeans, which keep talking about how they need to rival China here and there, but without much follow through or commitment
Read 4 tweets
Finbarr Bermingham Profile picture
Sep 10
NEW: EU to propose ban on forced labour goods on Tuesday, amid pushback over China’s alleged Xinjiang abuses

Story and thread outlining what is in the long-awaited proposal - and what is not

scmp.com/news/china/dip…
This is not strictly an import ban as called for by the Parliament. Instead it is a marketing prohibition ban.

Goods found to have been made using forced labour will be banned from sale in the EU, whether they are made in Europe, China, or anywhere else
In this regard, it is very different to the US approach, where an import ban on goods from Xinjiang presumes those products were made using forced labour. The importer has to prove otherwise, which some biz say is impossible.
Read 9 tweets
Finbarr Bermingham Profile picture
Sep 1
My story from late last night on the UN declaring China may be committing crimes against humanity in Xinjiang - what a dramatic day.

scmp.com/news/china/dip…
What now? We can expect responses from western governments to this report, and of course lawmakers will weigh in with heavy criticism.

But does this designation change anything in policy terms?
EU human rights officials had been waiting for this report because it would provide an irrefutably impartial source on Xinjiang.

They say China can't just dismiss it as bias, or funded by the CIA, or other ways it dismisses other Xinjiang reports.
Read 6 tweets
Finbarr Bermingham Profile picture
Aug 31
🚨BREAKING: The UN report is finally out, just before midnight

It says that actions of the Chinese government in Xinjiang, "may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity"

ohchr.org/sites/default/…
China's response is here. It is three times longer than the UN report, and it uses the term "so-called" three times on the first page

ohchr.org/sites/default/…
STORY: China may have committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, UN says

With details on UN findings on forced labour, torture, Xinjiang's "unusual and stark" plunging birth rate.

scmp.com/news/china/dip…
Read 4 tweets
Finbarr Bermingham Profile picture
Aug 30
Outgoing UN human rights chief Bachelet says criticism over delayed Xinjiang report is "unfair", in interview with DW's @jackeparrock

"I think it's unfair that comment on China because we have been speaking out on the situation, Tibet, Hong Kong..."

dw.com/en/outgoing-un…
Bachelet cont:

"It will be a shame, not only myself also the whole office's work, that we could be look at only through the lens of one country when we have been dealing with hundreds of countries all this time."
Bachelet: "This is a post where you have to be the voice of the voiceless indeed. But you also have to engage governments because it is the responsibility of government... to respect & promote human rights. So it's very easy to just speak, but maybe that doesn't change anything"
Read 7 tweets

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