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New Zealand MP Simon Bridges defends Beijing visit, interview with Chinese state media as criticism mounts

  • Leader of the opposition National Party has been criticised at home for ‘looking overly sycophantic’ in praising the Communist Party
  • He met Politburo member Guo Shengkun, whose current responsibilities include law order

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National Party leader Simon Bridges. Photo: New Zealand Herald
John PowerandSCMP’s Asia desk
The leader of New Zealand’s biggest opposition party has come under fire at home for meeting China’s former public security chief in Beijing last week, and praising the Communist Party during an interview with Chinese state-owned television.

Simon Bridges, accompanied by fellow National Party members of parliament Yang Jian and Gerry Brownlee, met Politburo member Guo Shengkun on Friday in the Great Hall of the People. During an interview over the weekend with English-language CGTN, Bridges described China’s economic transformation under the Communist Party as an “amazing story”, saying New Zealand and China enjoyed a strong trading relationship.

The interviewer also asked Bridges for his view of the ongoing political unrest in Hong Kong over the now-withdrawn extradition bill, referring to protests as “illegal and violent incidents”.

Bridges replied: “We understand and accept China’s sovereignty in Hong Kong. We want to see the peaceful resolution. I think the recent step around the extradition bill, to remove it, that’s been very positive.”

New Zealand’s Finance Minister Grant Robertson mocked the interview in parliament, saying Bridges’ “praise for the Chinese Communist Party went to a level that even the most loyal members of that party would struggle with”.

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