The candidate to succeed Boris Johnson, the former British Chancellor of the Exchequer, has pledged to close 30 Chinese-funded Confucius Institutes in the UK.
Britain’s former finance minister Rishi Chung, a candidate to succeed Prime Minister Boris Johnson, made a scathing accusation against China on Sunday.The biggest long-term threat“From the United Kingdom. Accusing China ofStealing our technologies and infiltrating our universities“, Rishi Sunak is taking a stand against his rival Liz Truss in the race for Downing Street, who has seized the opportunity to toughen the tone towards Beijing as head of British diplomacy.
The campaign is between the two finalists to replace Boris Johnson, who has been forced out of office after a series of scandals, recently bidding high on topics dear to the party’s right, such as immigration.
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Rishi Sunak promises to close 30 Confucius Institutes in the UK if elected by Conservative Party members. Funded by the Chinese government, these institutions aim to promote the Chinese language and culture, but have been accused by some conservative lawmakers of being used for propaganda and espionage purposes.
He promised to build an international coalition against China
In a statement, he believes the Chinese “Support Putin’s fascist invasion by buying Ukraine’s oil and try to intimidate neighbors including Taiwan“. “They impose unmanageable debt on developing countries and threaten them with seizure of their assets or diplomatic gunfire.“, he alleged. “They torture, detain and indoctrinate their own people, particularly in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, in human rights violations.“. “I will stop China’s takeover of our universities and give UK businesses and public sector the cyber security they need.“, he continued.
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Among Rishi Sunak’s promises was the creation of an international alliance like NATO, “to defend himselfAgainst China’s tech attacks, MI5 – Britain’s internal intelligence – develop support for companies and universities”Against Chinese industrial intelligenceOr prevent Chinese takeovers in key sectors.
The postal vote, open to 200,000 members of the Conservative Party, will open on August 5 and close on September 2, with the winner announced on September 5. Polls give Liz Truss a big lead
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