The membership of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China has ballooned to over 100 legislators from 13 countries, in under a week. The rise makes the alliance the single largest bloc of politicians concerned about the rise of China. At the time of launching, on 6 June, the alliance was made up of 18 legislators from 9 countries. It now stands at 104 legislators, drawn from 13 countries.
Members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China subscribe to the following principles:
Democratic states must maintain the integrity of their political systems, and actively seek to preserve a marketplace of ideas free from distortion.
A free, open, and rules-based international order that supports human dignity is created and maintained through intention. The persistence of such an order requires like-minded countries to participate actively in its governance and enforcement.
Giulio Terzi, Ambassador, President of the Global Committee for the Rule of Law “Marco Pannella”, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, welcomed the initiative with this statement: “Bringing together such a diverse group of high-level politicians on this issue from all over the world is not an easy, yet it is a necessary step at this stage in order to face the challenges facing the free and democratic world and from the Chinese Communist Party. The success and value of IPAC will also be measured in the ability of people who may disagree on many things, to identify common ground and values and the need for a coordinated approach. Time will tell us what impact will be produced. For now, the mere creation of the Alliance sends a clear message to Beijing: it is no longer business as usual.”
Reinhard Bütikofer MEP, European Parliament co-chair, commented: “To see IPAC grow and win more widespread and stronger support from an increasing number of parliaments is creating hope. And it signals to the CCP that we parliamentarians are in this for the long haul.”
IPAC’s current members, excluding co-chairs, are:
Australia Daniel Mulino, Raff Ciccone, Alex Antic, Amanda Stoker, Claire Chandler, Eric Abetz, Kevin Andrews, Tim Wilson, James Paterson, George Christensen; Canada Alex Ruff, Cathy Wagantall, Colin Carrie, Dan Albas, David Sweet, Greg McLean, Jasraj Singh Hallan, Kerry Diotte, Kyle Seeback, Leo Housakos, Michael Barrett, Philip Lawrence, Stephanie Kusie, Tom Kmiec, Stephen Greene, Judy Sgro, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith; Sweden Marial Nilsson, Tina Acketoft, Kerstin Lundgren, Niels Paarup-Peterson, Hampus Hagman, Lorentz Tovatt, Joar Forssell, David Josefsson; United Kingdom Andrew Selous, Anthony Mangnall, Catherine Meyer, Craig Mackinlay, Damian Green, David Davis, David Morris, Esther McVey, Gareth Davies, Gary Sambrook, Henry Smith, Imran Ahmed Khan, Liam Fox, Owen Paterson, Steve Baker, Tim Loughton, Tom Randall, David Alton, Natalie Bennett, Andrew Adonis, Judith Cummins, Rosie Cooper, Stephen Timms, Alistair Carmichael, Tim Farron, Alyn Smith, Stewart McDonald; United States Anthony Gonzalez, Mike Gallagher, Ted Yoho, Tom Malinowski, Joaquin Castro, Chris Coons; Germany Omid Nouripour, Gyde Jensen; Italy Lucio Malan, Roberto Rampi, Enrico Borghi, Andrea Delmastro Delle Vedove, Paolo Formentini Roberto Giachetti, Lithuania: Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Emanuelis Zingeris; European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt, David Lega, and Karin Karlsbro.
Please contact Sam Armstrong of the Central Secretariat on +44 7974 638 966 or at samuel@ipac.global for more information.