Labour
MPs, Chinese diplomats and nearly 200 members of London’s Chinese community
braved snow and ice last week to celebrate the Chinese New Year at the annual
Chinese for Labour banquet at the Phoenix Palace in London.
Guests of honour included Labour leader
Jeremy Corbyn along with a number of other MPS and Labour peers, as well as
Ambassador Liu Xiaoming and other senior diplomats from China’s London embassy.
Chinese for Labour Chair Sonny Leong
welcomed guests, saying: “There is more to do in fully engaging the Chinese
community, to bring them to Labour and empower them to make their greatest
possible contribution to British society. And so we have developed our first
ever Chinese for Labour manifesto, which sets out an agenda that we hope the
Labour Party will adopt to engage with and serve the British Chinese and
broader East Asian community.”
Jeremy Corbyn said: “Chinese people have
contributed hugely to British life. With 7,000 Chinese-owned businesses in the
UK, almost every corner of our country will have a Chinese-run business
contributing to their local economy. From our creative industries to our public
services, Chinese people make an invaluable and often overlooked difference to
our country. So thank you for all your contributions.”
The Chinese ambassador highlighted
Labour’s past contributions to Sino-British relations.
“Britain became the first major western
country to recognise the People's Republic of China,” Liu Xiaoming declared.
“Hong Kong's return to China was another highlight and it was followed by
accelerated progress in China–UK relations.
“The China–UK comprehensive strategic
partnership was established while Labour was in government. And the UK under
Labour joined China in launching several high-level exchange mechanisms,
including the annual Prime Ministers' meeting, the Economic and Financial
Dialogue, and the Strategic Dialogue.
“Eighteen years ago, Chinese for Labour was
founded. Since then, you have made great efforts to raise the sense of
citizenship among the Chinese community. You have launched campaigns like the
British Chinese Project to encourage them to get actively involved in politics.
“I look forward to continued contribution
from the Labour Party and Chinese for Labour. I am sure your efforts will help
improve understanding between the people of our two countries…In the new year,
we look forward to strengthening the communications between political parties of
our two countries. The China–UK Leadership Forum is a platform for such
communications. We hope the Labour Party will continue to take an active part
in this Forum.
“We hope to join hands with the Labour
Party to advance China–UK relations, to deliver more benefits to the people of
our two countries, and to contribute to world peace and development and promote
the sound development of our bilateral relations.”
The Chinese for Labour Group is an
affiliate of the Labour Party. It was formed in 1999 to promote the interests
of Chinese people in the Labour Party and to improve the quality of life of the
Chinese community in Britain.
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