The former UK prime minister, an after-dinner speaker at the flagship Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore on Tuesday, is said to have described China as a “coercive autocracy” to around 500 Asian businessmen, investors and diplomats. While his comments would not be seen as controversial in the UK, where there is concern about Beijing’s human rights record, rapprochement with Taiwan and proximity to Russia, the majority of Asian countries are far more favorable to China and share strong economic and diplomatic ties. In remarks that may alarm Rishi Sunak’s government and bolster his own support among Tory MPs, Johnson also reportedly announced he was taking a “temporary break” from the frontline of British politics, suggesting he still harbors ambitions to return to power. Bloomberg, who invited Johnson and whose organization hosted the event in partnership with the Singapore government, acknowledged at the opening session of the conference on Wednesday that some attendees may have been “offended or offended” by Johnson’s comments in the speech of the previous evening. But the businessman, former mayor of New York and friend of Johnson, made it clear that they were “his thoughts and only his thoughts”. He added: “To those of you who were upset and alarmed by what the speaker said, we apologize.” Mike Bloomberg said some attendees may have been “offended or offended” by Johnson’s comments. Photo: Peter Foley/EPA Johnson’s remarks came the night before Sunak was due to hold a surprise meeting with Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Bali. The talks were canceled but would have made him the first UK prime minister to meet the Chinese premier in person for nearly five years. Downing Street had said Mr Sunack wanted to redefine the UK’s relationship with Beijing by seeking a new “frank and constructive” dialogue. But it was interpreted by wary Tory hawks as a thaw in relations between Britain and the Asian superpower, following Liz Truss’s more overtly hostile approach. According to the former prime minister’s spokesman, he told the audience: “Let’s look at Russia and China. The two former communist tyrannies in which power was once again concentrated in the hands of a single ruler. Two monocultural states that have traditionally been hostile to immigration and are becoming increasingly nationalistic in their attitudes. “Two permanent members of the UN Security Council who support each other and enable each other and who are willing to show a frank disregard for the rule of international law, and two countries that in the last year have demonstrated the enormous limitations of political the systems. the disastrous mistakes they have made.” A guest at the Singapore dinner told the Guardian: “Boris was typically funny and charming, but he was also quite combative in his criticism of a bunch of foreign governments, particularly China and Russia, which he described as coercive autocracies. In Britain it would be perfectly fine to single out China. But in Asia it wasn’t.” Another added: “Boris was very, very judgmental. The speech was quite shocking. People were clearly uncomfortable. He used very undiplomatic language about China at a conference in Asia. A former Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister of Britain should have known better.” The backlash from dinner attendees at the five-star Fullerton Bay hotel, believed to have included some Chinese businessmen, prompted Bloomberg to apologize in person. He told the conference: “Some may have been offended or offended last night by parts of the speaker’s remarks referring to certain countries and their duly elected leaders. “These were his thoughts and only his thoughts, which no one had clarified in advance or shared with me personally. The Bloomberg and NEF forums are a diverse group of opinions and the presentation was intended as after-dinner entertainment rather than a serious discussion of important controversial and complex issues. “And I’m sure you know from many years of interacting with us that our respect for all opinions and those who serve in government is complete and heartfelt. To those of you who were upset and worried by what the speaker said, we apologize. “And if you weren’t upset, maybe you enjoyed Boris Johnson – he is who he is, … he’s very controversial but also very entertaining. He was trying to be entertaining rather than informative and serious, and I think we have to give him some credit for that.” A spokesman for the former prime minister said: “Mr Johnson is and will continue to be a strong critic of authoritarianism and autocracy – including Russia and China. He will continue to support freedom and democracy on the world stage.” A spokesman for Bloomberg declined to comment. Since being ousted as prime minister, Johnson has been boosting his MP’s earnings by touring the world for a series of lucrative speeches. The latest register of MPs’ interests shows he was paid £276,130 plus expenses for a speech to insurance agents in the US. His last trip to Singapore took place while the House of Commons was in session, although he returned for Thursday’s Budget. Johnson’s political career has been littered with a series of damaging diplomatic blunders. In 2013, he suggested that the increase in the number of Malaysian women attending university was due to their desire to find a husband. Two years later, he claimed that “part-Kenyan” US President Barack Obama had an “ancestral antipathy” to the UK, sparking an international outcry. In January 2017, the then foreign secretary was caught on camera reciting a colonial-era poem by Rudyard Kipling in front of local officials while on an official trip to Myanmar. Johnson, who was accused of “incredible insensitivity”, was in a sacred Buddhist temple at the time. Later that year, he was criticized for falsely claiming that imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was “teaching people journalism” rather than on holiday in Iran. His comments were later cited as evidence by Iran that he was engaged in “anti-regime propaganda”.
