Gray Sergeant

Taiwan's inclusion in the Integrated Review 'refresh' follows a recent shift in the UK's approach to cross-Strait tensions. Britain is taking the costs of a crisis seriously and is working more closely with allies to support stability. My thoughts for @ConGeostrategy:

🚨 New Article Alert! 🚨 In my latest piece for The Diplomat, I explore the dramatic changes in Hong Kong since the 2019 pro-democracy protests, mentioned in my latest @ConGeostrategy briefing on #HongKong. Read the full article at thediplomat.com/2024/08/how-sh… 🔒 Erosion of Freedoms: The National Security Law and Article 23 have dismantled pro-democracy groups and stifled civil liberties. 📉 Economic Challenges: A mass exodus and economic slowdown have hampered recovery despite efforts to attract mainland Chinese residents. 🌐 Geopolitical Implications: Hong Kong is now a testing ground for Beijing's global ambitions, including financial ties with the Middle East and serving as a trading hub for allies like Russia and North Korea. ⚖️ Dysfunctional Governance: The absence of pro-democracy lawmakers has led to dysfunctional governance and strained public reserves. 🏙️ Changing Demographics: The influx of mainland Chinese is reshaping Hong Kong's cultural and social fabric. #Geopolitics #Economy #Governance #NationalSecurity #ProDemocracy

Read the latest article by @GraySergeant, our Research Fellow, on what the recent elections in the UK and France mean for British and French foreign policy 👇

What is the best approach for the new strategic defence review to take? 🇬🇧 We asked seven experts for their thoughts in today’s Big Ask... ✍️ @bbaxendalesmith, Neil Brown, Sir Michael Fallon, @paulmasonnews, @JAParker29, @annietrev and Adm. The Lord West britainsworld.org.uk/p/the-big-ask-…

In this Memorandum, @RJohnsonCCW1 explains how money alone won’t solve Britain’s defence gap 🇬🇧 ‘Long term, the steady costs of adequate defence are the smallest price to pay.’ britainsworld.org.uk/p/the-memorand…

Four Chinese Coast Guard ships intruded into restricted waters near the outlying islands of Kinmen. It's the third such incursion this month.

China warns von der Leyen is "playing with fire" on Taiwan

The latest edition of ‘Observing China’ is out now! 📩 🇹🇼 Trump’s Taiwan slam 💻 Chinese censors to ensure socialist AI 📰 Selina Cheng fired 🇩🇪 Germany sort-of ditches Huawei Read more and subscribe to the newsletter here 👉 chinaobservatory.substack.com/p/newsletter-7…

One for those on the Labour benches:

Insightful and important reporting from @DSORennie @jarmiles on the 80% of Tibetan children now in state-run boarding schools, including children who live in towns and cities near their schools. This is about political control, not education. Listen here: economist.com/podcasts/2024/…

In this Memorandum, @JohnHemmings2 and @DavidSantoro1 explain why NATO should cover Hawaii 🌎 ‘...it is astonishing that Hawaii’s exclusion from the Washington Treaty is not, at a minimum, an agenda item at the summit.’ britainsworld.org.uk/p/memorandum-0…

The first duty of my government is to keep our country safe. I look forward to meeting the UK’s closest allies at the #NATOSummit in Washington D.C. tomorrow.

Last week, we relaunched #BritainsWorld on @substack! Sign up to receive our content. We’ll publish our first Cable tomorrow, with a roundup of British foreign policy, how others frame the #UK, and important @RoyalNavy deployments... britainsworld.org.uk

I also shared my thoughts with @cynthiafa from 公視新聞: news.pts.org.tw/article/703000…

What could a Labour government mean for UK-Taiwan relations, and Britain's role in the Indo-Pacific? I spoke with @JoshuaMWilkes of @DominoTheoryMag dominotheory.com/what-a-labour-…

China confiscates Taiwanese fishing vessel ft.com/content/e24fda… via @ft

"Labour has chosen to keep its Indo-Pacific cards close to its chest. Success for a future British government in the region will require dexterity and a robust understanding of what regional players want" buff.ly/3RRR4gK | by @Discoplomacy

“Perhaps this ugly incident, which has once again exposed the Faustian nature of UK-China relations, could act as an impetus for a flourishing of British-Taiwanese twinning agreements.” #Edinburgh 🇬🇧🇹🇼 spectator.co.uk/article/how-ed…

🚨 NEW NEWSLETTER: OBSERVING CHINA 🚨 📰 Latest China-related news 🔍 Expert insight 🏢 Parliamentary updates 🇨🇳 Chinese narratives on the UK 🇹🇼 Cross-strait relations Subscribe now for all the latest on UK-China relations 📩 chinaobservatory.substack.com

'Anyone with the faintest understanding of Beijing’s paranoia over Taiwan ... will know that the suspension of the Edinburgh-Kaohsiung partnership has little to do with safeguarding the sensibilities of the Chinese people. It was motivated by fear.'

Excellent op-ed by @GraySergeant about the latest council to kowtow to the #CCP's demands. We agree that other #Scotland council leaders should show solidarity with @Edinburgh_CC by exploring opportunities to develop ties with #Taiwan.