Foreign news

Carrie Lam: To Be Patriotic Is Not A High Standard

Published

4 years ago

March 15, 2021

“Asking for somebody to be in a governing position to be patriotic is really not a high standard. It is really the basis of anybody who wants to have a role in the governance of a place,” said Chief Executive Carrie Lam of China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) during an interview with CGTN Host Tian Wei.

On March 12, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) adopted a decision to improve Hong Kong’s electoral system. It was passed by an overwhelming majority vote. The main parts of the adjustments include an expansion of the Election Committee to 1,500 members and establish a new sector under the committee to incorporate Hong Kong NPC deputies and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) members.

The decision is believed to be another major step to improve HKSAR’s legal and political systems to ensure the city is administered by patriots.

But such a move was met with a mixed response. While many analysts have said that this improvement would benefit Hong Kong’s long-term stability and prosperity, some have accused Beijing of silencing political debate in Hong Kong. U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken condemned the decision will “deny Hong Kongers a voice in their own governance.” But is that really the case?

As the chief executive of HKSAR, Carrie Lam expressed her gratitude for the results of the voting and strong support for the new changes. “The only objective of this exercise is to ensure that governance is firmly in the hands of those who love the country.”

Lam pointed out that this will ensure the full implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, which has been proven the best formula to ensure Hong Kong’s long-term stability and prosperity.

As for voices saying that this decision would limit political participation, Lam responded that the move would do quite the reverse. By expanding the Election Committee, there will be more opportunities for people to participate in the political debate in Hong Kong.

“If we have the same number of the so-called pro-democratic persons in Hong Kong, as long as all these people are able to meet the standards of a patriot, then they now have more opportunities to take part in the election and to win the election,” Lam added.

Faced with criticism from some Western countries, Lam highlighted that those voices represent only a fraction of the foreign countries. She also commented that those countries were pretty “biased and prejudiced.” They used different standards to apply to Hong Kong and their own.

“If the current U.S. administration could seriously condemn the siege of the capitol in Washington, D.C., how could they turn the blind eye to the blatant violence that has taken place in Hong Kong for almost a year? They were only suffering for a day, but we have been victimized for over a year. Our Legislative Council has been destroyed far more extensively than what we have seen in Washington, D.C.,” said Lam.

Going forward, Lam believes the changes in the electoral system would mean more stability in Hong Kong, thus attracting more capital and investment to the renowned international financial center.

China’s 14th Five-Year Plan has mentioned, for the first time, to develop Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub. The new changes will certainly be a boost to Hong Kong’s development in the long run.

World Insight with Tian Wei is an international platform for debate and intelligent discussion. It is the meeting point of both the highly influential and rising voices, facilitated by host Tian Wei. It provides nutrition to form your own thoughts and ideas through 45-minute live debate and interviews.

Schedule: Monday-Saturday

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Foreign news

French Envoy Seeks Collaboration With NAN To Boost Seamless Relationship

Published

2 months ago

February 5, 2025

The Gleamer

The new French envoy to Nigeria, Marc Fonbaustier, on Wednesday called for collaboration with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) toward strengthening the mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries.

Fonbaustier, who is the French ambassador to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, made the call when he paid a courtesy visit to Malam Ali Muhammad Ali, NAN’s Managing Director, in Abuja.
The ambassador said that his purpose of visiting was to pay tribute to the MD, and to seek collaboration in three areas with a view to promoting stronger, seamless and fruitful partnership between both countries.

He added that Nigeria and its people were hospitable, especially to the foreigners and ambassadors alike.

He added that Nigeria was a country with so much energy, strength, stamina and so many talents.

In Nigeria, with the population of this size, it is inevitable that the elites of the country are very outstanding, “and there may be a Franco/Nigeria moments now”, he jokes.

According to him, France and Nigeria can collaborate more and learn from each other.
“I could feel it particularly during the state visit of President Bola Tinubu which took place in November 2024.

“I was there and I could see the intensity, the strength and the scope of the partnership, and I am here to scale up that partnership in all sectors.

“I am coming here for three reasons, first, to pay a tribute to the NAN MD and his team for the quality of this agency. We can testify that the contents that you publish are very factual, and also very well set up and structured.

“You do fact checking and you really do try to provide the community with quality information. I think, as a French ambassador, I can recognise that as part of a living democracy,” he said.

The French ambassador said the second reason for the visit was to intimate the NAN MD of France’s eagerness to go on partnership with NAN saying he hoped for assurance of a seamless, fluid and easy relationship.

He said that his third reason stemmed from his observation that NAN recently signed some partnership framework agreements with Egypt and China, saying “it may be time to think of balancing this partnership with others”.

“Especially with French, and to talk with Agence France-Presse (AFP) to see if there’s ground for a closer relationship between NAN and AFP.

“Which is also a recognised agency like yours, and I bet you the sky will be the limit to the collaboration, ’’he said.

Responding, the NAN MD informed the envoy that the agency was African’s biggest news content provider on account of its size.

Ali gave the envoy a little details of the agency’s operation and its outreach, saying “as our continent’s biggest news content provider, we have offices nationwide and in selected African countries.

“We have offices in countries such as South Africa, Cote d’ivoire, Addis Ababa, and then we have offices also beyond the shores of Africa. We have in New York and we are the only resident wire service in the United Nations.

“At a time in the past, the agency had 11 foreign offices, including Moscow, and presently, we are trying to re-open some of our shut offices, especially in London.
“We value partnership and understanding that we have with similar news organisation such as Reuters and, incidentally, we have a long standing relationship with AFP which you just raised.
“I know for years we have exchange of news between NAN and AFP but it’s a cooperation that we will like to strengthen and with your greater involvement,’’ he said.

The MD commended the ambassador for reaching out and engaging with some Nigerians communities to douse the tension of the allegation made by the Nigeriens.

He also lauded the envoy’s leadership and visibility to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, “which has helped to douse the perception and misconceptions about France, especially in the Sahel”.
“I think you have helped to reverse some of this perceptions. I thank you for the kind words that you said about the agency and about our management.

“We also see partnership as an important tool in checking the spread of fake news.
“We’ve seen instances where fake news has done great deal of damage, and with the coming of social media it has done even greater damage.

“Our country is facing a lot of challenges, one of which is the increasing insecurity, and the social media has been used by those who do not want to see our country to prosper,” Ali said.
He further said that NAN was a credible news agency that always fact check to correct the wrong narratives by those who are in the business of causing troubles.

He also told the envoy that the agency has its content in the Nigerian indigenous languages, starting with Hausa and it would proceed to Yoruba and Igbo languages later, “then later in future to French.

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