Nottingham City Council says it is considering the 'behaviour and values' of the Chinese Government as a review continues into whether its links with part of the country should be scrapped. Nottingham has had an official relationship with the Chinese city of Ningbo since 2004, when the University of Nottingham opened a 14 acre campus there.
Ningbo is one of China's oldest cities, located on the country's east coast around two hours south of Shanghai. Its other visible links with Nottingham include the Ningbo Friendship Bridge, which was officially named as such in 2016.
Despite the successful partnership between the two cities, some campaigners in recent years have called for it to end. Protesters took to the Old Market Square last year to demand an end to the twinning arrangement due to what they described as the "ongoing oppression and persecution" of people in Hong Kong.
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Those protestors returned to the Old Market Square on Monday, January 9, to voice their opposition to the twinning arrangement ahead of a Nottingham City Council meeting at the Council House. One of those protesting was 20-year-old Ken Wong, who is from Hong Kong but who has lived in Nottingham since 2019.
She said: "We sent in our petition months ago now and that had over 1,000 signatures on it, but we never got a proper reply to that so we decided to submit the question to the council meeting so that we have an answer. We recognise that the relationship between Nottingham and Ningbo is a very tight one, but we have all seen the issues there are in China.
"There are also ways in which China can be seen as a threat to UK security so we think the council has to take action. Before Covid, I think there was a heavy reliance on China but I think the pandemic has made us think a bit more about what we can do and produce for ourselves."
The protestors outside the Council House were part of the Nottingham Stands with Hong Kong group, launched as part of a Global Detwin with China campaign in 141 cities. Opposition to China has increased since the passing of a hugely controversial national security law in Hong Kong in 2020, which gave Beijing more powers in the latter country than ever before.
The law means that some criminal cases originating from Hong Kong can be tried in mainland China, with crimes including the damaging of public transport being considered terrorism. Cities including Newcastle and Bath have already severed their twinning relationships with China.
The question at Monday's Nottingham City Council meeting asked the authority for its response to the Ningbo petition, which was handed in on June 12 last year. Council leader David Mellen responded by saying: "As a result of receiving the petition, Nottingham City Council is committed to reviewing the nature of all its current twinning and international arrangements, including its formal twinning arrangement with Ningbo in China. Nottingham is a place that embraces and celebrates diversity and inclusion.
"We recognise that international relationships can support important aspects in the life of an international city. They can also enrich the cultural offer, enhance awareness of different communities, and heighten the educational and cultural experience for the city as a whole.
"We also know that as civic leaders in Nottingham, we must ensure that any current or future international relationships are with those places who uphold the same principles and that there are tangible benefits for the city and its residents. Hence the review that we are undertaking as a council must consider both the benefits of the relationships with other cities across the world, as well as the behaviour and values of the countries' governments where the twin cities are located.
"As part of the review, Nottingham City Council has been engaged with stakeholders to fully understand and assess the impacts of international links. Once this work is concluded, the council will make clear its intention with regards to all its existing relationships."
Nottingham City Council has already severed ties with its twin cities in Russia and Belarus following the invasion of Ukraine last year. Announcing the move last May, Cllr Mellen said it was done as an act of "solidarity with Ukraine and their absolute right to national self-determination".
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