Appeasing China is becoming increasingly costly
In October 2022, a Chinese international student at Southampton Universtity disrupted a presentation by a fellow student who had referred to Taiwan as a country. The media response was mild, with few outlets prioritising the story.
While this incident seems tame, it comes hot on the heels of a more severe incident at the Chinese consulate, when a protestor was dragged inside and beaten. Police intervened and the actions were condemned, but the consequences ended here.
We can also see what the future holds when cosying up to repressive regimes. Looking back at the 2017 Turkish assault on protestors in the United States, the public backlash was significant but resulted in no real repercussions for the Erdogan regime, as then-president Trump sought the favour of the Turkish premiere.
Post-Brexit Britain is largely dependent on Chinese trade to function, our own manufacturing sector sold off to foreign investors, and holding China to account for its actions is challenging. Additionally, this government has shown that accountability is only for the have-nots, thus China is free to act with impunuty.
The real problem with sweeping the incident u
nder the rug at a diplomatic level is that it does not disappear from the minds of the public. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, [the number of anti-Chinese hate crime incidents has been on the rise](https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2022/0540). Manchester and Southampton, both home to universities that rely on international students, have significant numbers of Chinese nationals residing and studying in the area.
Thus, the government's lack of meaningful response has two main impacts. First, Chinese officials and diplomats will continue to ignore British laws and customs. Second, due to a perceived lack of legal recourse and more brazen offenses, hate crime against ethnic Chinese people will increase, inflicting the same harm to the diplomatic relationship that the government was trying to avoid.
This weak Conservative government still clings to the notion that Britain is a strong nation, allowing a soft touch. Instead, Brexit has weakend us, and the government looks weaker still.
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