The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in a speech delivered at the NZ-China Business Summit, which was attended by over 500 delegates, in Auckland on Monday, called out China on recent developments including “Hong Kong’s new security law, the situation of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang province, and Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organisation”.
Talking about differences between the two countries, the PM said, “The New Zealand government takes a stance where, as representatives of the New Zealand people, we think that the public has a direct and resounding interest in the outcome. As you know, this has come to the fore recently around developments like Hong Kong’s new security law, the situation of the Uyghur people in Xinjiang province, and Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organisation. This is important to who we are as New Zealanders.”
“Looking specifically at Hong Kong, which has been in the news in recent weeks, curtailing the city’s open governance and judicial independence without proper involvement of Hong Kong’s institutions, directly impacts on the thousands of New Zealanders living in, or with close ties to, Hong Kong. Many New Zealanders have also invested in Hong Kong or do business there because of its independent judiciary and high degree of autonomy. It is, then, quite natural for us to raise concerns about Hong Kong’s security law– we believe we are representing real and actual issues for New Zealanders.”
On what is the way forward, the PM added, “Issues between New Zealand and other countries are normal, and should not curtail or define our bilateral relationships to which we remain absolutely committed.”
“Our countries have have different perspectives on some issues, and I expect that we will continue to have these into the future. That is normal. Our relationship is a mature one in which we can manage differences constructively and professionally,” she concluded.
-TIN Bureau
(The PM’s entire speech can be read here www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/speech-notes-prepared-china-business-summit )