Hello. Welcome to dateline london, im carrie gracie. This week, coronavirus makes it an unhappy Lunar New Year for tens of millions in china. Indias controversial new citizenship law, government and protesters again. Signed, sealed and delivered within days, britain is finally about to brexit. My guess this week, Agnes Perrier of a french weekly, suzanne b irish times, steve richards, ashleigh raper. Thank you also much forjoining. A week ago it was mostly business as usual in china. Now, tens of millions are under virtual lockdown and many Lunar New Year celebrations have been cancelled. Is china handling coronavirus well . And if this turns out to be the rehearsal for a lethal virus pandemic, is the world ready . Agnes, why dont you start us off with an assessment of how china is i didnt call it coronavirus, it should be 2019 novel coronavirus. Yes, because there are a lot of them. I remember the sars epidemic andi them. I remember the sars epidemic and i notice a real difference because 17 years ago china, you know, started covering it up and it must have cost quite a lot of lives than. Although the mortality rate was not that great, about 10 . Virus mortality rate is kind of low. But at a distance of course, im not in china but it looks as if they have reacted rather soon, quick, and transparency and clarity is key to avoid panic. They will also put because it is on lockdown, it will be at the spring festival and a lot of families are staying at home. They are going to build a hospital in ten days, only the chinese can do that. Of course it is travelling because the chinese are bigger travellers than they were. I dont feel the same sense of panic, it is always scary, and epidemic as such. And it has all been really sequenced. We know where it comes from. Probably what the main difference is that xijinping, the probably what the main difference is that xi jinping, the chinese president sent the message are more important than anything else. Talk about the impact on the economy later, im sort of reassure. But i shouldnt be. Later, im sort of reassure. But i shouldnt be. What do you . What about you . From shouldnt be. What do you . What about you . From one asian writing power to another, when indians look at how the chinese are doing this, and as agnes points out, there are some advantages of being a top down authoritarian state saying we are going to put you city of ten or 11 million on lockdown. When indians look at that, how do they feel about the management of it . The lockdown aspect wouldnt happen in india but there are similarities because the Healthcare System there are similarities because the healthca re system china there are similarities because the Healthcare System china and india are either developing stage, its not felt red standards and therefore the response is reactive rather than proactive and so that is exactly what we have seen, the virus has been around for a month and we have seena been around for a month and we have seen a really aggressive approach only in the past week or so. So that explains it and also that once theyve got it under control, of course they will certainly be able to manage it budge better but we dont know to what extent it has spread, because it is a medical factor, we dont really know. But its unlikely to be as bad as sars because china is much more organised as compared to 17 years ago. But there is a debate within china, lets face it, as to whether the syste m lets face it, as to whether the system has been slow to react to what has happened and that they they have underplayed it. Suzanne, you wanted to pick up on what agnes was saying . suzanne, you wanted to pick up on what agnes was saying . I wanted to do about how xi jinping is talking about theirs. Theyve already been in the public eye over the hong kong protests, and i think there is a consciousness there that this is a big global news re with global ramifications. And, you know, its 17 years since the stars crisis as well but china has become so much more a major player sars crisis. There are still a lot of challenges facing china at the moment, the trade war with the us, 0k, they are starting a phase one trade deal in the last week or so but there are still significant tariffs on chinese goods, there is a conflict over huawei, the telecoms provider, the us is asking other countries to block huawei. So i think china is approaching this crisis at a very delicate time in terms of their reputation globally. Steve, what about the global indications of this . If this is to a degree, b doesnt get much worse than it is, a of useful rehearsal for the bigger pandemics that the Worlds Health authorities fear, do you think it is one that we are ready for . To some extent, but i always find this im not a medical expert, im not a china expert, but whenever these viruses erupt, i find a very useful metaphor to remind us that in this of Global Economy rings me very quickly. And the issue is the degree to which governments can mediate and how. And in this case obviously it is people coming into the country, maybe it is too late in some cases because, i didnt realise it started a month ago, actually. I thought china had been quite quick this time. This is you, how you manage something that erupts in one place and becomes global within days a plate to the financial crash in 2008 is plate to the financial crash in 2008 is part of the explanation of brexit, and we will turn to that later, whether you can turn in away from global phenomenon on or whether there are other ways in which you mediate. Here, to some extent its obvious what you do. But, if there is something on a bigger scale, it will be very tough to control. Governments will have two act together and separately, borders and all the rest of it. So ijust find it very interesting as a metaphor, not being a medical expert i cant judge the weight of this. And just before we leave this topic, i mean, do any of you think that we are all overreacting to something that is still, despite the fact it spiked last week, is still really quite small, both inside china and india globally. It is not exactly the spanish flu of a century ago which impacted half a billion people and killed perhaps 50 million. Sorry, its a very you know, dramatic media story. Ive come from the us where it is featuring on the us network even though they tend to not cover much globally, this is breaking news, what is happening in china. There are some suspected cases in america. But i think its either kind of story that takes on its own momentum and becomes, kind of dramatised. You talked about the spanish flu and plagues in europe, so, itjust. Corresponds to something in our collective imagination and history, you know. There are pandemics that sort of, suddenly a whole generation is concerned. I was reading about the cholera epidemic in paris in 1832, wiping out 2000 people. Its the same thing that taps into. And also because of globalisation, as you said, steve. Because it is absolutely necessary. Lets face it, while the travel restrictions have come into being in the last week or so, people incubating the virus have been travelling for a month. So we dont know the extent to which it can potentially spread, so, therefore, as i said, because it is absolutely necessary. And on that, a thought, were going to move on. To india, in light of the china story, lets focus on it properly now. An estimated 30 people who died in india in the weeks of protests since the enactment of a controversial new citizenship law. Thus we come Indias Supreme Court refused to block in limitation of the citizenship Amendment Act. But it told the government to respond to those challenging its constitutional validity. There is there any sign that the legal challenges or street protests would trigger a government rethink . You arejust protests would trigger a government rethink . You are just back from india, this is one for you. Yeah well, its like this. The home minister is adamant that this amendment will go through. Mind you, its already legislation, the president has given his assent to the new law, but it hasnt been implemented yet. And tied to this is something that is equally controversial, which is all the National Register for citizens. Now, the two are intertwined. This is seen the two are intertwined. This is seen as a the two are intertwined. This is seen as a clear the two are intertwined. This is seen as a clear move the two are intertwined. This is seen as a clear move against muslims in india. What we have in india has been quite widely reported, the hindu nationalist government. Their agenda from the very beginning as to has been to impose into supremacy in india and marginalised the muslims. Hindu supremacy. In india and marginalised the muslims. Hindu supremacy. But they insist that is not true. They say any citizen who is not a muslim has full protection under the law. Its has full protection under the law. Its not what the legislation suggest, the legislation says persecuted people from neighbouring countries can come into india, but not muslims. So this, according to people i have spoken to, is a clear violation of the indian constitution. Of course a judgement will take place from the Supreme Court ina will take place from the Supreme Court in a couple of months, and as to whether the thing whether the legislation is valid or not is something that we will come to know about. But at the moment, the matter is really the court of the people. And weve seen massive, unprecedented demonstrations all over the country. Not just unprecedented demonstrations all over the country. Notjust street ministrations running into the hundreds of thousands, maybe half a million on a couple of occasions, but also in university after university, students are protesting against this law. So, therefore, i think thejury is against this law. So, therefore, i think the jury is out on this. The government is still determined. They have backtracked a bit on the nrc committee National Register of citizens, but they seem to be still insisting that this citizenship Amendment Act will go through. But asi Amendment Act will go through. But as i said, peoples with positive opinions will matter and therefore the coming weeks and months when the weather gets better, because the protests have been taking place in bitter cold weather, and so if the weather is fairer, then certainly it could be to the advantage of the demonstrators. Having said that, there is one point which is this, that the students has to get back to their studies and exams at some point. So, whether they would be able to sustain their studies, we will have to wait and see. Steve, what are your thoughts . will have to wait and see. Steve, what are your thoughts . I think modi isa what are your thoughts . I think modi is a curious combination. He, like trump is an anti state statist. He talks about markets, that the government should do less and the state should do more, but actually he isa state should do more, but actually he is a centralised and pulling levers of the state, apparently indifferent to some legal implications. And i guess, indifferent to these protests. I know the situation in india, what he is doing there is unique to india. But he is part of this Curious Group of figures being elected around the globe who claimed to loathe and despise government and politics while centralising in a frenzied, provocative way. I believe the brazilian president , bolsonaro is visiting india this weekend. Exactly. He is another strong man, very right wing, and authoritarian populist, you may call those figures. And what is so disquieting about what is happening under modi in india is that it is again symbolising this resurgence in nationalism around the world. This move away from in terms of immigration and globalisation, even though india has been trying to cut themselves as a global power but of course like a lot of his movements, india is in a position, not quite of weakness, but its economy is slowing down and there is going to be some kind of mass Investment Programme in india. But, you know, things are not good in the economy there. So is this an effort to stoke up this im grounded fear about the other . This im grounded. And also people within their own country. Its not actually immigrants, its people within the state of india. It could have used that majority to do all the reforms, the Economic Reforms that were necessary and we see all these leaders who, he is at the head of a democracy he should be the head of a democracy he should be the symbol of unity. You want citizens that are so different, to unite and is just fanning the flames of Division Within his own country and to attack the fabric of society and to attack the fabric of society and the nature. They arent really interested in unity. Thats one of the layers of nationalism which implies a kind of united, coherent vision, is the exact opposite. Exactly. Its stokes up the idea of us exactly. Its stokes up the idea of us and them and people like trump says this works. If people feel agreed they might go out and vote and this seems to be whats happening in india, his striking appear in certain sections when there is no need to do that. Lets put this back here, if this analysis from the rest of the table is correct, has he somehow overestimated to what extent he represents the us . I think the government has taken by surprise. By the extent of mass protests which have taken place and so there is certainly hesitation now as to how they will tackle this here onwards. Said that, the unrest is as much about the economic slowdown is protest against what is happening. Because characters like modi are essentially divisive in the politics and so that division to him has bent consolidation of the hindu majority vote and to marginalise the muscles in the questions and the rest of it. This hasnt worked on this occasion. I was saying there are hindus that are protesting . They are as much up in arms except for the hard core group. As much up in arms on this issueis group. As much up in arms on this issue is the other communities. Because what . Because they believe in the. They believe in the secularism of india they believe in the constitution of india. Many protests have ta ken the constitution of india. Many protests have taken place where people are simply reading the preamble of the indian constitution. Which is considered to be sacrosanct. That brings me back to where we started and you said the Supreme Court is going to rule on the constitutional validity et cetera. In a couple of months, is it going to put an end to all of this . Are they going to have to bend the citizenship amendment if the Supreme Court says no. Yes. At the Supreme Court says no. Yes. At the Supreme Court says no. Yes. At the Supreme Court says its not constitutional then suddenly it will have to be binned, they can bring it back to parliament at a later stage but there are 1111 petitions before the Supreme Court on this matter. This is massive. Were going to leave it for the moment because we need to come to the uk, the shouting is over. The Withdrawal Agreement signed. The uk will leave the European Union one week now. That rubicon cross, are the challenges coming to focus . The future relationship with the eu, Free Trade Agreement with united states, after four years an anguished debate of what brexit might be. We are about to see what it actually means. Steve, firm predictions . Firm production is about what will happen in the trade deal . Yes because i wa nt in the trade deal . Yes because i want to. A week ago we had a uk chancellor saying we will be nonaligned with the european regulations and then a couple of days later he seems to slightly backtrack and say we dont divert shots for the sake of it. Yes. The of this is all the Big Decisions have still to be made. So when britain lives on january 31, they will be in future, it will be cinematic. There will be a spit screen cinematic. There will be a spit screen with the celebrations on january 31 and some symbol of all the nightmarish talk still to come. And those celebrations will look odd retrospectively. Some cases it might look at all the time. This is one of them. He thought, he is a week chancellor, not the dominant force at the moment. In thats almost unprecedented in the last 50 years. Thats quite a big statement. People compare it with tony blair, Boris Johnson because blair had big majorities. Gordon brown was an almost equal force, broke the budget, and told tony blair. Number ten is right in the budget, it will be presented in march. And javid in his interview last week thought he was echoing the number ten line, maximum diversions, businesses have ple nty of maximum diversions, businesses have plenty of time to prepare for this, et cetera. Then businesses responded despairingly and number ten borrowed, we seemed recklessly antibusiness so we turned it down a bit but thatjust antibusiness so we turned it down a bit but that just shows the degree to which they have big calls to make on divergences. In general terms they have made it. They want big diverges with the European Union. What does that mean for Companies Whose main market is the European Union . And they i think are still in the place that theresa may was at the place that theresa may was at the beginning of of her negotiations. They want their cake and to eat it as well. They want the best of both. They want to start negotiating with america. They want to start with japan. But theyve got to start with japan. But theyve got to resolve this trading arrangement with the European Union. And theyve got about so little time to do it. Are these issues or related, agnes, another thing we saw last week was this very same chancellor, sitting ona this very same chancellor, sitting on a platform at davos. Alongside the us treasury secretary and they we re the us treasury secretary and they were trading threats in a way that were trading threats in a way that we dont normally see the uk and the united states. In a mixed and the uk is not going to be part of an entirety of 28 members who can actually together, thats called the European Union, and be as big an actor as the united states. In the uk is going to find herself very vulnerable to the american pressure of course. Imagine. Even the president and the truce in the Digital Service that france wants to implement. And we had to bow down because trump said ok, im going to apply tariffs on that. So the big difference is, to go about it alone. What i find important since Boris Johnsons election is that its temporarily. Brexit is happening. Theres no use crying over spilt milk. It is happening, it is inevitable. No second referendum, it is done, is finished. There might be some celebrations at the end of next week but then, reality strikes and that will be fascinating because perhaps it will be good. Who knows . But at least facts. Britain is going to head against facts and reality. 11 months, we will see. How do you think about that . The uk is giving mixed messages about what it wants to do, us trade deal. But on the us trade deal there is a couple of points here. Number one there has beena of points here. Number one there has been a few issues in the last week that are going to be problematic for the uk, us relationship. Number one is that britain is now as youve mentioned also suggesting Digital Services tax which would impact on american companies. Hence the moment it doubles. Exactly. Bring back again the chinese telecoms is a decision due this week from britain about whether, how much involvement the Chinese Telecoms Company will have in 56. I reading today the start of the times reading that talks are going to happen in london, the us is not happy. Trump is very pro brexit, he wants to strike a trade deal with britain but we are coming to an election in america in november, adobe knows if trump will still be in office and secondly congress have a huge role to trade deal, its notjust the white house was not its notjust the executive branch. So congress, the tragedy will take ages. They will have the final say on that. I think for the uk the mixed method about who you are going to sign at first, from the eus perspective, the Eu Trade Commission was in london last week discussing its own relationship with the us and he was saying publicly in some events the biggest concern in brussels that we are going to face another cliff edge at the end of the year. This timescale is too limiting, we got until the end of the year to strike this trade deal and he is worried, he was wondering about usjust and he is worried, he was wondering about us just because and he is worried, he was wondering about usjust because he is in such about usjust because he is in such a strong budgeting with a huge majority, why . Its a negotiation side tactic on the side of britain but theyre worried about the timetable. As it a danger that evidence being too negative . He said that what he was signing through agreement, one those symbolic moments, we can now move forward as one country of the government focused on delivering better property services, great opportunity, alleging potential of every corner of the uk. They said that withdrawal will part was the easy bit and is going to be tough later on. Its taken three and a half years with the withdrawal bill to come to pass but what is certain is that if a Free Trade Agreement happens in is that if a Free Trade Agreement happens in 11 months, it will be a world record. If its never happened before, its never happened anywhere in the world. The certainty is this. The greater the alignment between the eu and the uk, the quickerand easier it will be to find agreement, but if this divergences then it will ta ke but if this divergences then it will take longer. And therefore 11 months may be a little too optimistic. Thats the key issue, the question of diversity. The governance is the reason it can be done quickly is because we start aligned. Its not like canada or will you start from outside and have to negotiate. But the twist is, they want to become diverging. They want to diverge rather than the remain alignment. Its rather than the remain alignment. Its more complicated than canada because you have to work out how you extra ct because you have to work out how you extract from the existing joint regulations or whatever. And what you do and how much friction you then put into it, subsequent trade arrangement. Youve already on the parade. Just pick up, suzanne made the point about borisjohnson having a huge majority, labour party busy, fighting the internal leadership battle. Do they have a role in the 11 months youre describing or other just going to be sidelined by getting a new leadership in place . They are sidelined now and thats another reason borisjohnson is so powerful at the moment. He doesnt face any serious opposition. And even when labour elect a leader, his majority as such is such that he will be absolutely drowned on every parliament revoked. He is in a very strong position. But the opposition, this letter leadership make labour leadership race is more important thanit leadership race is more important than it seems given his got the majority in the sense that these trade deals demand forensic scrutiny. 0ur complicated, its not quite as dramatic and as accessible as the withdrawal bill knife edge boats. And if they elect a leader, capable of detailed scrutiny, that will be an Important Role to play even though Boris Johnson will be an Important Role to play even though borisjohnson will win every boat on these issues and there wont be that many votes on them anyway. So it is an important part of the equation in the months to come, not yet, the races lasted about 25 years but they finally elect a leader, thatll be a significant moment. And there we have to leave it. It has been great having the four of you on and thats it for dateline for this week, we will be back next week same place same time, thank you for watching, goodbye. Hello, smell of rain moving east across the uk on sunday will be followed by cold air and on sunshine and showers to start the new week. He is the rain, still coming Northern Ireland in the morning and that improves across scotland. Two males and across england, not reaching parts of the far south east until later in the afternoon. Behind the rain its breaking up, sun comes out in Northern Ireland and scotland seemed the best of that, few showers wintry on the hills of scotland and temperatures are coming down a few degrees. 0nce temperatures are coming down a few degrees. Once it through, it will be a lover s degrees. Once it through, it will be a lovers blustery day enhancing the cold feel, smell of showers moving east overnight sunday into monday, especially scotland. Some snow out of these two relatively modest levels. Icy patches going into monday morning as well so dont be caught up by quite a wintry start to monday for some of us. Further showers again wintry particularly towards the north of the uk, best of the dry, bright weather will be across eastern parts on monday, going to feel chilly especially in the weather. Welcome to bbc news. Im james reynolds. 0ur welcome to bbc news. Im james reynolds. Our top stories . Chinas president has warned his country faces a grave situation as the deadly coronavirus spreads with increasing speed. The virus is known to have killed at least 56 people. Police have told us that we can drive in but not drive out. So it seems this whole province where the coronavirus first broke out will now be locked down. Rescuers search for survivors after powerful earthquake strikes eastern turkey. The fight back against the president trump, his lawyers set out the case for the defence in his impeachment trial. And Sir David Attenborough thanks