First Minister questioned over engagement with China, but not US president

Northern Ireland’s First Minister has been questioned over engagement with China, but not US president Donald Trump.

It came in the Stormont Assembly after Michelle O’Neill confirmed that she would not attend St Patrick’s Day events in the White House next month due to the situation in Gaza.

Ms O’Neill is repeating a stance she took last March over attending the traditional events at the White House with President Trump.

Last year, the SDLP and Alliance also stayed away from the White House, while DUP ministers, including the deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly attended.

During Assembly questions for her department, Opposition leader Matthew O’Toole welcomed the First Minister’s stance, and confirmed SDLP leader Claire Hanna would also not attend.

Meanwhile Mr Burrows put to Ms O’Neill that her decision on humanitarian grounds is “at odds” with her party colleague and Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald visiting China last year.

Ms O’Neill responded: “We’ve spoken quite often in this house in relation to our engagement with both Chinese officials here, or indeed, whenever the Economy Minister recently visited China, we make it very clear about their human rights abuses, we always underline that in all of our visits.

“Both myself and deputy First Minister are on record in all of our meetings with Chinese officials that we’re concerned about their human rights abuses, and they’re very clear of our record in relation to that.”

But Mr Burrows claimed he had received a “non-answer”.

He pressed: “You’re still prepared to have the Economy Minister go to China, a regime that drips in blood, that crushes dissent, that is a humanitarian abuser, that oppresses Christians – you’re happy to have a member of your party shake the bloody hand of Beijing, but give false reasons why you won’t attend the White House?”

Ms O’Neill said her reasons for not attending the White House are similar to her stance last year.

“There is a genocide, something that is unique to our generation and I think it’s important that you stand on the right side of humanity on that issue,” she said.

“Unfortunately, many members in the benches opposite will be on the wrong side at this historical moment.

“But I’m taking a stand in terms of the role of the United States, in particular, in terms of the international community, the fact that they have turned the other way, that they have failed.

“What I want to see in the Middle East is a two state solution.

“I encourage the international community to do more, and I take a distinct approach to what we do in relation to Washington and what we do in relation to China in terms of trade and relationships, but I’m very confident that our economy minister is more than capable of raising all those human rights concerns that we all share.”

Confirming her attendance at the White House this year, Ms Little-Pengelly said it is “incredibly important” leaders are “turning up and showing up” to advocate for Northern Ireland in the US.

She told reporters at Stormont: “I think that these events do provide such an incredible opportunity and there’s only so many times that people would close that door before they would realise when they tried to go back and open it, that door then remains closed to them.”

Earlier this year Mr Trump received fierce criticism from politicians and veterans groups for claiming Nato sent “some troops” to Afghanistan but “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines”.

Asked about those comments Ms Little-Pengelly said: “We’ve made clear our position on that.

“We’ve also made clear where we disagree with the president, and we do disagree with them on many different occasions.

“As I’ve said, I will be going to DC to engage with the president, because that is the office that he holds. He is the most influential leader in the world.”

She added: “We’ve always made clear we haven’t shied away from criticising President Trump when he says things that we fundamentally disagree with, however we do engage, we recognise that this is a democratically elected president of the United States of America, the biggest global power in the world.”