Foreign news

Carrie Lam exclusive: U.S. sanctions are for Trump’s self-serving interests

Published

4 years ago

August 19, 2020

Chief Executive of China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam Monday said the U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration used so-called sanctions against some Chinese officials to serve their own interests.

Lam made the remarks during an exclusive interview with CGTN.

The U.S. earlier imposed sanctions against heads of Chinese government agencies responsible for Hong Kong affairs and officials of the HKSAR including Lam.

When asked what the U.S. is trying to convey through imposing sanctions, Lam said “By now I think it’s quite clear that all this is part of a ploy of the U.S. administration for their self-serving interest.”

“Hong Kong is a ready to point for them to do such a thing because we are such an open society and we have a small portion of people who tend to be more radical and critical of the government of the mainland,” she added.

The chief executive voiced strong opposition against such U.S. acts, saying it should be condemned not only by people of Hong Kong but also by the international community.

Because of the sanctions, the chief executive said she may meet some inconvenience when using some financial service.

However, Lam called the sanctions meaningless. From her perspective, the most important thing is that she and other HKSAR officials feel honored at this historical moment being trusted by the central government to enforce a piece of national law to safeguard national security.

She said the more attacks they meet means the more effective the legislation is, adding that she and her colleagues are determined to continue their work and won’t be intimidated.

When talking about the postponement of the 2020 Legislative Council (LegCo) election in the HKSAR, Lam said she knew she could meet all kinds of speculations for making the decision since the participation of LegCo election is always high and Hong Kong society is now going through the highly politicized and very polarized situation.

However, she stressed, “nothing is more important than people’s life”.

As more than 4,500 cases have been reported since the epidemic broke out in the HKSAR, Lam said she cannot take risk of Hong Kong people’s life and safety.

She believes it is a right and responsible decision to postpone the LegCo poll so as to ensure a safe and fair election.

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Foreign news

EU Cautiously optimistic on Syria engagement – Official

Published

1 week ago

January 28, 2025

The Gleamer

Irish foreign minister Simon Harris said on Monday that the European Union (EU) “is cautiously optimistic on Syria engagement” but called for more deeper engagement to strengthen relations with the country.

Harris said this at a news conference held at the EU Headquarters in Brussels, the Belgian capital.
“It’s early days, but I think there are signs of optimism. But it is important that we continue to engage.

“I don’t think it would be a good scenario if any other geopolitical actors and forces engage with Syria and for the European Union not to be in a position to intensively engage with them,“ he said.

In her remarks, Ms. Kaja Kallas, the Vice-President of the EU described Syria’s future as fragile but said that the bloc needed to take the right steps.
“But of course, we need to see the right steps as well. Right now, they’re saying all the right words, and they are doing also the right things.

“Therefore, we have this set step-for-step approach, and if they take the steps, then we are willing to take the steps as well,’’ she said.

On the war in Gaza, Harris said President Donald Trump and his team are very much a party to the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas after the intensive work that was put in.

He conceded that the Trump administration put in a lot of effort to arrive at a ceasefire agreement in the days before his assumption of office for a return to the White House.

“I think that was important and there is no doubt that the intensive work invested by the Trump administration played a very significant role in helping to bring about a ceasefire – a ceasefire that has now seen a cessation of hostilities, the killing, and the bombings.

“Also, that has seen the flow and has seen hostages being released. It’s really important that the ceasefire is in place.

“It is also important, though, to acknowledge in that ceasefire agreement itself, it does talk about people being able to return, and therefore, I think it’s important that we’re consistent in the approach that we take.

“The priority, I think, needs to be on implementing to the letter, the ceasefire agreement.”

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