Hong Kong and Irish politics (E293)

After many weeks of demonstrations everywhere in Hong Kong, it seems that the effective occupation of the airport, one of the busiest in the world, is the final straw for China. Most now expect a distinct hardening of the line that China will take towards the mass disruption and the economic loss caused by the demonstrators. The British government, who seized the territory 150 years ago for punishing China for stopping the British opium trade, has called for calm. However, the American government appears to be turning up the heat; a suspiciously large number of American flags appeared in the hands of the demonstrators and the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ appears to be their anthem. So, to find out what’s going on there and what might happen next we invited one of Britain’s leading communists and friend of China Dr. Ranjeet Brar into the studio.

Clare Daly has been involved in politics, it seems, all her life: From her student days as president of her students’ union, to her trade union activism and, most recently, her election as an independent MEP in the European elections. She is one of the most exciting political figures to come out of Ireland in the last hundred years. So, during a visit to London this week, Sputnik caught up with her for a two-part special interview to find out more about how she came to politics, her activism and about her aspirations as a newly elected MEP for Dublin.

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Podcast https://soundcloud.com/rttv/sets/sputnik-orbiting-the-world