News

News 2nd July
Main News: Major problem has arisen now in Hong Kong.  The new law has been put into action and hundreds of people have been arrested.  The new law breaks an agreement that China had made with the UK in 1997.  This goes back a long way when China and the UK were in conflict.  Hong Kong was an important port and it was handed over to be part of the British Empire after the Opium wars.  It was a British Crown Colony so that it had special status in law. 
Many people in Hong Kong were able to have British passports.  In 1997, UK and China agreed that China should integrate Hong Kong into the mainland but that there should be 50 years when Hong Kong would have its own laws and freedom.  It was very valuable as it is a strong financial centre.  Now China has broken the agreement and is taking over Hong Kong.  This means UK has to act and the Government has said that 3 million people in Hong Kong could come to the UK and over time have British citizenship.  China does not agree. 
But the situation is even more complex because a lot of Chinese companies have taken over UK companies – they are building power stations and also are involved in the Internet services particularly the mobile phone networks.  Many MPs now say this has to stop and UK needs to develop its own technology.  This is a big news story which affects the whole of the UK.
Going back to school in September?  Still a lot of confusion.  Laptops which were promised to schools, did not appear; when they did arrive, the schools did not have the passwords to open them.  Reports say school year groups to be kept apart and break times to be different.  If 2 children have the virus, the whole school has to close.  Head teachers say if children have to have distancing, then there will not be enough toilets. Confusion all round.  Government to make an announcement today.