Article source: International Observer 1 on 2024-10-19 07:25:39 – The news is taken from major news media. The news content does not represent the position of this website!
China is not allowed to aid Russia. Lamy’s visit to China discussed three sensitive topics. Wang Yi responded by mentioning a movie, which had very unusual intentions. During Lamy’s visit to China, what sensitive issues did he put pressure on China on? Why did Wang Yi suddenly mention the movie “The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru”? What special significance does this film have to China-UK relations?
On October 18, British Foreign Affairs and Development Secretary Lamy was invited to visit China and held talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi that afternoon.
China has shown a very positive attitude towards Lamy’s visit to China. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also mentioned in its response that this is the first cabinet minister of the new British government to visit China. The two sides have in-depth communication on enhancing strategic mutual trust and strengthening dialogue and cooperation in various fields. .
However, before Lamy’s visit to China, there were also some other voices from the British side, and they made many demands on the topics discussed by China and Britain this time, including three sensitive topics.
First, the British Foreign Office mentioned in a press release that Lamy’s trip will urge “China to stop providing political and economic support to Russia in the Russo-Ukrainian war.”
Second, British Starmer mentioned in the House of Commons that he would ensure that Lamy would mention Taiwan and other security issues to Beijing during his trip. He also claimed that China’s military exercises around Taiwan were “not conducive to peace and stability” and that stability in the Taiwan Strait was consistent with “Benefit for all”.
Third, a number of British MPs submitted a joint letter to Lamy, asking him to pay attention to human rights issues during his visit to China, especially to express concerns on Hong Kong-related issues.
Although there are various differences between China and the UK, Lamy still said that it is in the interests of the UK and the world to interact with China pragmatically.
During the talks, Foreign Minister Wang Yi first clearly set the tone that Taiwan and Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs, and non-interference in internal affairs is a basic norm for international relations.
Later, Foreign Minister Wang Yi also affirmed the other party, saying that China-UK relations are now standing at a new starting point. The British Labor government proposed to develop long-term, stable and strategic relations with China, and China spoke positively of this.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi also specifically mentioned a documentary film called “The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru”, which tells the story of Chinese fishermen who bravely rescued British prisoners during World War II, allowing people to relive the common memory of China and Britain fighting side by side against fascism.
It is worth mentioning that China has selected this film to compete for the “Best International Film” at the 97th Academy Awards.
The reason why Foreign Minister Wang Yi mentioned this movie is very meaningful. On the surface, this movie mainly embodies the story of China and Britain joining forces to fight against Japan, and reflects the historical friendship between China and Britain. But there are two unusual backgrounds to this story. First, most of the British prisoners captured by the Japanese invaders were actually British soldiers who colonized Hong Kong. This is also an unavoidable historical difference between China and Britain. Secondly, the ship transporting British prisoners was actually sunk by an American torpedo, but it was Chinese fishermen who rescued the British. There is a lot of room for interpretation of the relationship metaphor.
