Todd Bishop
From September 24th, US local time, the UN General Assembly officially entered the annual “general debate”. Leaders or representatives of various countries will give a speech in a week to expound the vision of national development and international cooperation. Since most of the political leaders of various countries gathered in New York at this time, the UN General Assembly also indirectly provided a stage for the “bilateral” outside the country.
In fact, whether it is the first day of the general debate or a few days earlier, the host country and the United States have all made their mark, and other leaders and opinions have also taken this opportunity to emerge.
Climate Change Summit
On September 23, before the general debate, the UN 2019 Climate Action Summit was held. The summit aims to discuss how to achieve a “carbon balance” in the middle of this century on the first anniversary of the Paris Agreement.
At the summit, Swedish youth social activist Greta Thunberg gave a fierce speech, accusing the leaders of the world of their efforts to fight global warming. She mentioned that “we are at the beginning of mass extinction, but you only talk about money,” and twice asked “How do you do this” (How dare you?). The lens also captures Trump’s appearance when he sees Trump entering the game.
Although Temberg is only 16 years old, he has successfully led many “global strikes” campaigns around the world. In March of this year, about 1.3 million people from 106 countries participated in the strike. Most politicians and the media highly praised Toberley’s speech. However, US President Trump has some disdainful comments on Twitter that “she is like a little girl who is looking for a bright future,” and the conservative Fox News, more commentators refer to Tongberry. Asperger’s disease is “a mental illness that is used by people.”
General debate
According to tradition, the first two speakers of the general debate of the UN General Assembly are Brazil and the United States. At this meeting, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Trump joined forces to emphasize “national priority”, and it must have made Trump, who had been alone in the fight, feel comfortable.
Borsonalo pointed out that “France and Germany use 50% of the land area for development agriculture, but Brazil only has 8%”. It is a misconception that the Amazon forest is regarded as the lung of the earth. He emphasized that indigenous peoples in the Amazon forest also have the right to development, and that any action to protect rainforests and ecosystems must respect Brazilian sovereignty. In particular, he expressed his gratitude to Trump, saying that he “respects the freedom and sovereignty of every country” and perfectly reflects the spirit of the United Nations.
Trump, who followed the speech, continued to emphasize “national sovereignty.” He mentioned that the United States is carrying out a national rejuvenation strategy, saying that the future of the world is not a “globalist.” China has raised a lot of space in Trump’s speech this time. He criticized China for implementing an unfair trade policy and urged the WTO to reform “preventing China’s drilling system.” Trump also urged Beijing to “strictly abide by the joint statement to protect Hong Kong’s democratic lifestyle.”
Unlike other leaders, British Prime Minister Johnson did not mention domestic affairs in his later speech, but instead spoke on the topic “Technology plays a role in history and the world today.” As the British Supreme Court ruled that the Congress was illegal, he immediately returned to London after completing his speech.
Religious freedom conference
On the 23rd of the Climate Change Action Summit, Trump, who brought the United States out of the Paris Agreement, seemed to realize that he had no place in the field and held a “religious freedom conference” in another conference room. In addition to Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are also sitting on the rostrum, which shows the importance the US attaches to the conference.
Trump boasted at the meeting that “the religious freedom enjoyed by the United States is rare in the world. 80% of the world’s population lives in places where religious freedom is threatened, restricted or even prohibited.” UN Secretary-General Guterres ) At the meeting, but mentioned in the speech “We must be alert to the use of religion and identity to limit the full enjoyment of rights of others”, it seems to touch the “Muslim ban” announced by the Trump administration earlier.
The US side is also outside the main meeting. On the 24th, Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan and Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom hosted the “Xinjiang Human Rights Crisis” seminar. At the meeting, the US side once again accused Beijing of imprisoning about 1 million Xinjiang Muslims into “re-education camps” and criticized the camp for “incompulsory labor, torture, death penalty” and other inhuman treatment. The Chinese delegation to the United Nations criticized the US side for “using the United Nations venue to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and undermining the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.”
US-Japan Trade Agreement
On September 23, the US and Japanese governments began ministerial consultations on trade agreements before the general debate began. Japanese Foreign Minister Mao Mumin said at the press conference after the meeting that “Japan-US trade negotiations have all ended and there will be a good ceremony.” This means that Abe will formally sign the agreement and issue a joint statement after bilateral talks with Trump.
Before Mao Mumin sent a reassurance to the outside world, there were media reports that the US-Japan negotiations were at the last moment, because the US was not willing to put “no tariff on Japanese autos” into the agreement and ran aground. Mao Mu said that the car tariff issue “does not need to worry” and implies that the United States will not impose quantitative restrictions on Japanese cars and parts.
After Trump took office, he opened a trade front with Japan, the North American Free Trade Area, and the European Union with China. If this agreement is implemented, only China and the EU will have two hard bones left in front of Trump. For Japan, the earlier CPTPP, Japan-Europe Free Trade Agreement and the US-Japan trade agreement have made Japan’s “free trade circle” cover most developed economies, the long-delayed China-Japan-Korea Free Trade Agreement or the next stage. The main battlefield.
