China warns it will ‘prick the eyes’ of New Zealand and its allies. How Jacinda Ardern responded

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said China’s statement that it would “poke the eyes” of anyone who interferes with its sovereignty was not “language we would use.”

Ardern’s comments follow last week’s diplomatic tumult between the countries of the Five Eyes intelligence group (New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States) and the most populous country in the world.

“We, the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, and the Secretary of State of the United States, reiterate our serious concern regarding the imposition of new rules by China to disqualify elected legislators in Hong Kong, “the Five Eyes statement said.

“We call on China to stop undermining the rights of the Hong Kong people to elect their representatives in accordance with the Joint Declaration and Basic Law. For the sake of Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity, it is critical that China and the Hong Kong authorities respect channels for Hong Kong people to express their legitimate concerns and opinions.

“As a prominent member of the international community, we hope that China will fulfill its international commitments and its duty to the people of Hong Kong. We urge the central Chinese authorities to reconsider their actions against Hong Kong’s elected legislature and immediately reinstate the members of the Legislative Council, “the Five Eyes statement said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian responded to Five Eyes’ statement

“No matter how many eyes you have, five or ten or whatever, if anyone dares to undermine China’s sovereignty, security and development interests, be careful not to get your eye poked,” he said.

Ardern, speaking with Mike Hosking of Newstalk ZB this morning, said that China’s statement was not “language we would use.”

New Zealand was always consistent on these things, Hong Kong was very relevant to New Zealand, it did business there and people here were affected by things in Hong Kong, he said.

“My view is that we have a relationship where New Zealand is consistent and predictable, where we raise these issues in a respectful way and China will respond when it sees fit.”

When will NZ receive the Covid vaccine?

On potential Covid-19 vaccines, Ardern said New Zealand was looking for continued application, with information continually updated.

“Rather than just waiting for the completion of clinical trials … so that we can move forward as quickly as possible, but we need to satisfy our medical authorities to make it safe to use.”

The timing of vaccines is different for countries, so he wasn’t expected to be in New Zealand for Christmas.

When asked when a vaccine could be expected in New Zealand, given that the FDA in the United States was looking to launch its own before December 11, in the United Kingdom before Christmas, Ardern said he needed to check if he could speak publicly. about the arrival date.

“As I said, the delivery dates are different for each country, but we are working as quickly as possible.”

“I don’t think we’re going to see the case where the world gets vaccinated and New Zealand doesn’t.”

Ardern disagreed that New Zealand had “gotten off the tail”.

Hosking pressed Ardern about the timeline, stating that Britain would get vaccinations before Christmas.

“We paid the money and closed the deal,” he said.

Ardern said some of the information about the deliveries “could be a bit speculative.”

Not all countries got everything at the same time, Ardern said.

“There is nothing I have seen that suggests a regulatory delay on our side, it is simply the delivery date. They are not able to produce enough for the world at once.”

When asked about the more than 1,000 managed isolation and quarantine spaces that were reported to be available to travelers, Ardern said that some of the live data did not capture what was free.

“They do maintain a buffer, but they have told me it is much smaller than that.”

The team was going to try to make sure the data was more accurate, he said.

In Apec

Ardern said Apec discussed “legitimate issues” at the summit.

When asked by Hosking if the promise of “free and predictable trade” was just “hot air,” Ardern disagreed.

There have been “great examples” of this recently, including New Zealand and Singapore working together to keep commercial and supply lines open during “tumultuous times.”

There were also “trade tensions” between China and the United States, and issues in the WTO where there is no appointment for the appellant body, so things are blocked.

APEC 2020 formally ended on Saturday morning (New Zealand time), following a virtual meeting between the leaders of the participating countries.

The summit was “hosted” in Malaysia this year, but due to Covid-19, the entire event was held online.

Apec’s mantle now falls to New Zealand, which will host the summit next year.

“While this is not a face-to-face meeting, it will be one of the most important international events New Zealand will host in decades,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

But, due to the logistics of hosting such an important event, which includes hosting world leaders from 21 different countries, including the US, Australia, Japan and China, it takes years to prepare for the event.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) told the Herald that before the decision to hold a virtual summit was made, some $ 26.3 million had been spent on preparations.

The total budget to host the event is $ 46.13 million.

Former Foreign Minister in the Key administration, Murray McCully, said a virtual APEC means costs won’t be as high as if the event had been held in person.

“The Apec is a very expensive meeting to organize, especially the component of leaders and ministers. But let’s not forget also a series of meetings of officials that take place over several months.”

He said it also means that one of the biggest economic opportunities for the host nation, its ability to show itself to the world, has also been more or less lost.

“New Zealand is missing a great exhibition opportunity, but it will also undoubtedly save a significant budget,” he told the Herald.

“I guess it’s kind of a double-edged sword.”

Foreign affairs expert Stephen Jacobi said New Zealand would also miss out on the added expense of all visitors who would have otherwise been in New Zealand for Apec.

World leaders are accompanied by an entourage of attendees, officials and ministers during their travels to the Apec summit, not to mention the large number of reporters and the added security the event also attracts.

“On the other hand, we don’t have to pay a large amount of money that would be required to house them in the right way,” Jacobi said.

“The Government is avoiding a very high bill at a time of economic rigor for New Zealand.”

But there are other non-economic costs to bringing Apec fully online that must be accounted for, Jacobi said.

“Going virtual means that we lose part of the human factor that goes into a great meeting of leaders and officials, ministers and businessmen.”

A major loss will be the informal “split” meetings between world leaders that usually occur in Apec.

“It will not be the same,” Jacobi said, adding that these meetings will have to be replicated “in some way, shape or form.”

McCully agreed – “[Apec] it is a great occasion for the meetings of the counterparts who hold informal meetings. “

But Ardern is confident that despite New Zealand hosting a virtual summit, Apec will continue to be a success.

“The delivery of an innovative and well-managed virtual Apec will demonstrate New Zealand’s digital and creative capabilities, along with our commitment to ongoing and effective diplomacy,” he said.

“In a Covid-19 world, it is more important now than ever.”

About house prices

Hosking questioned Ardern about his comments that house prices could not keep rising as they were, yet the Reserve Bank had made $ 28 billion available to banks, most of which would go to housing. .

“Do you need to speak to the governor of the Reserve Bank?” Hosking asked.

Ardern said that ultimately funding for the loans depended on the major banks. “And we are talking to them,” he said.

“It is your decision whether to put it in the productive economy, that’s what we are urging you to do.”