One Country, Two Systems was conceived by Deng Xiaoping, architect of China's Open Door Policy, as a formula not only for Hong Kong's reversion to China's sovereignty but also for Taiwan's ultimate unification with the mainland.

Under a so-called "1992 Consensus" reached between Beijing and the Kuomintang (KMT), both mainland China and Taiwan agreed to uphold the "One China" principle subject to different interpretations.

This week's news included an early "obituary" for Apple Daily, the eponymous newspaper founded by Jimmy Lai, a long-time critic of the Hong Kong and Beijing Governments.

The prediction of closure of the pro-democracy paper by the end of the week followed the arrests of the executives (including the editor-in-chief and the chief executive) and freezing of the assets of the parent company, Next Digital. All the staff of the publication are expected to resign this week and the last issue may be the June 26 edition.

This news is remarkable to me in 2 respects:

Following the coup d'etat in Myanmar on Feb 1st this year, the 'Tatmadaw' military have killed more than 860 civilians and imprisoned more than 6000 people. Random bombings of civilians, burning villages and killing protestors, have made a full scale civil war likely. The de facto leader of Myanmar is now the brutal General Min Aung Hlaing, the Chairman of the State Administration Council.

At the EGM held on 30 May 2021, attendees had a good discussion on the relative merits of retaining the name 'Chinese Liberal Democrats' or changing it to 'BESEA' or 'CESEA' Liberal Democrats.

Arguments for the change to BESEA was presented by the Chair Dr Yeow Poon. He said that the proposal arose following Covid 19 pandemic bringing with it a sharp rise in race-related hate crime against those of Chinese, East and SE Asian appearance due to xenophobia and Sinophobia . That was coupled with the younger generation increasingly identifying themselves either as 'British Chinese' or as 'East and SE Asians' rather than just as Chinese. CLD should therefore reach out to the diaspora communities to better represent their needs and concerns. Based on the CLD survey conducted prior to the EGM, BESEA LibDems was the most popular name chosen, over CESEA and CESA.

On the 26th March 2021, we found out we would have just 41 days to run five local by-elections in Islington alongside the London elections. Having met many fantastic Councillors and being involved in the local community, I knew I wanted to stand as a Councillor, but this was sooner than expected. However, supported by an incredible team, I went for it and worked alongside other fantastic candidates to make waves in Islington.

What's in a Name?

We conducted a Survey recently on a proposed name change for Chinese Liberal Democrats. This initiative was partly spurred on by a rise in Sinophobia and Covid19 anti-racism against people of Chinese and East Asian appearance. Singaporeans and South Koreans alike have suffered race hate attacks under Covid19. We would like to reach out to represent and speak up for them too.

In addition, there has also been a move over the last decade, particularly amongst those working in the arts and media to identify themselves as "East and SE Asean", a term that has entered the lexicon.

I've thought long and hard about this. I've often tried to keep business and politics separate but the crises we're all facing are too big to ignore. I see this as an important stance in civic engagement.

If there's any way you can get more involved in helping your local community - do it.

So here I am, standing to be a local Councillor in the UK.

❓ What is a local Councillor?
In the UK, the primary level of elections takes place across a ward (there are around 10k in the UK each with an average of 5k). Each of those wards has three Councillors representing them.

🤝 Why local Councillor?
The more I've got involved in politics, the more I realise the importance of Councillors on the front line. A good Councillor helps local residents get the support they need. They help shape local policies on social support, health, housing, waste and recycling, health, transport, culture and environment.

🔶 Why the Liberal Democrats?
No party is perfect. I joined the LibDems in the fight to stop Brexit. Since then I've discovered a group of people who care about helping people and making a difference. We stand for individual freedoms as well as supporting the community. We're about tolerance, fairness and equal opportunity.

Switzerland's first voting in 2021 was held on the first Sunday of March, when over 50% of qualified voters decided to ban Muslim women from covering their faces in public places. Before the vote, the Swiss far-right party and the Swiss People's Party (SVP), which proposed the initiative, put up posters across the country with a Muslim woman whose face was covered by burka; we only saw her angry and fierce eyes. "Stop Extremists!" was the main message that SVP delivered to the public.

CLD was one of the 325 organisations and 2,004 individuals who responded in good faith to an open consultation in November 2020 by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.

The Commission was established by Prime Minster Boris Johnson to investigate race and ethnic disparities in the UK and the state of race relations today. Although the report made some sensible recommendations its overall tone and the conclusion that there is no evidence of institutional racism, structural racism or white privilege in the UK is wrong. The report has been utterly rejected by increasing numbers of academics, anti-racism organisations, health professionals and even professional bodies, like the Royal Institute of British Architects and the British Sociological Association. The report has been criticised for cherry picking data to suit a pre-determined narrative and ignoring huge swathes of research.

I am a Councillor on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and I reported to the Overview & Scrutiny Committee at our March meeting that we had to be vigilant when Hong Kongers with BN(O) status start to arrive in the country in family groups. I warned, with hate crime on the rise even in Tunbridge Wells, the Community Safety Team had to be alert to people being attacked for their ethnicity. Hate crimes had risen locally by 3.2% since last year due in part to the initial portrayal on the media that the Chinese were responsible for the spread of the "Wuhan virus".