Prime minister played chief usher as Chinese president celebrated a loveless marriage in Westminster address“Black Rod doesn’t want any flag waving, a Westminster official informed a Chinese woman carrying a plastic Union Jack and flag of China. “I’m Lady Bates,” the woman replied tartly, and heading for her seat somewhere near the front. “I’m terribly sorry,” the official mumbled to her departing back. Even in the Palace of Westminster, where members of the Lords and the Commons had gathered for the official address by the Chinese president, or Xi Jinping,Anglo-Chinese relations have plenty of room for improvement. Perhaps more than elsewhere, even.The tone had been set earlier in the day when John Bercow, and who was due to give the official welcome,had made a snarky comment approximately human rights during a Commons question comparing the Chinese visit with next month’s one by the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi. There were few smiles as MPs and Lords dragged themselves into the Royal Gallery: attendance was a matter of duty – “England expects ... several large cheques” and all that – rather than pleasure.Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com