Alba, the Scottish nationalist party founded by former First Minister Alex Salmond, has condemned the latest cold war moves by the British government against China.
In a March 26 statement the party’s General Secretary Chris McElney said that the sort of Cold War mentality on display by Westminster ends in hot wars. He called on the Scottish government to reject this approach, adding: “The real danger is from those who wish to divide the world into armed camps and who wish to shut Scotland out from the international community.”
Scotland had benefitted from a positive relationship with China in areas including education, trade, investment and tourism.
The below is reprinted from the Alba website.
Reacting to the UK Government statement on China, Alba Party General Secretary Chris McEleny said:
“As Alex Salmond has previously warned, this is the sort of Cold War mentality on display by Westminster which ends in hot wars. The Scottish Government should reject this viewpoint, defend valuable cultural exchanges and oppose any attempts by the UK Government to close them down or reduce the number of Chinese students who have the ability to be educated in Scotland. We have nothing to fear from talking and exchanging culture. The real danger is from those who wish to divide the world into armed camps and who wish to shut Scotland out from the international community.
“Scotland’s educational links with China have long presented opportunities to increase trade and secure Chinese investment in industry and infrastructure.
“These links also promote Scotland as a destination of choice for Chinese tourists – something which pre-pandemic delivered 172,000 visits to Scotland from China bringing £142M into the Scottish economy.
“Westminster’s feud with China undermines and will deeply damage over a century of Sino-Scottish educational relations”
