the body language seemed to be warm enough, despite some recent tensions between the uk and china over human rights, espionage and the war in ukraine. mr han spoke of promoting what he described as the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations through what he said would be mutual respect and pragmatic co operation. so what s likely to have been on the agenda for the meeting? the uk is unhappy over china s growing military support of russia in its war in ukraine. london has also voiced concerns about china s crackdown in hong kong and its ongoing treatment of the uyghurs. and then there are accusations that china is spying on the west something beijing strongly denies. our correspondent in beijing, steve mcdonell, sat down to speak to mr cleverly after he met mr han here s what he had to say. we have got to recognise that china is an incredibly potent trading partner in countries all over the
government. but it looks as if this coup sticks, if the soldiers do establish their control, which would be in contrast to much smaller attempted coup that took place in early 2019, that would be a really big change because bongo succeeded his father in 2009 in the family have been running gabon basically for around six decades. find have been running gabon basically for around six decades. for around six decades. and very briefl , for around six decades. and very briefly. paul. for around six decades. and very briefly, paul, tal for around six decades. and very briefly, paul, tal is for around six decades. and very briefly, paul, tal is a for around six decades. and very briefly, paul, tal is a little - for around six decades. and very briefly, paul, tal is a little bit i briefly, paul, tal is a little bit about bongo. briefly, paul, tal is a little bit about bonuo. , , , ., about bongo. basically, his father was a long-time about bongo. basically, his father was a long-ti
shoulders from a range of military units appeared on television and announced that they were taking power and that basically all of the institutions of the gabonese republic were being dissolved. on the grounds that the election had been mismanaged. and was not credible. so, that is what really has happened through the night. we have heard little sense. we have seen one or two images of people celebrating somewhere in the town in the interior of gabon, but we don t have much information about what is going on right at the moment. or where president bongo is. all the opposition challenger. nor do we really have much information about what has happened to members of the
by the government. mr bongo came to power when his father omar died in 2009. if he has been overthrown, it would end his family s 53 year hold on power in gabon. live now to paul melly, consulting fellow for the africa programme at the international affairs think tank chatham house. thank you very much forjoining us, paul. first of all, to construe the events of this morning. basically, it was very. events of this morning. basically, it was very. very events of this morning. basically, it was very, very early events of this morning. basically, it was very, very early hours - events of this morning. basically, it was very, very early hours of. events of this morning. basically, | it was very, very early hours of the morning, when most people in gabon was still asleep. the results of the election were announced, showing that president bongo had won around 65% of the votes and his main challenger had got about 30%. that look like quite a clear margin. just a few minutes later, a gro
important and brave reporting fare from my colleague quentin. army officers have appeared on national television in gabon claiming they have seized power. they said they were annulling the results of the election on saturday where president bongo was declared the winner. this was when it was announced. translation: in the name of the people of gabon - and as guarantors of the institutions, we have decided to defend peace by putting an end to the current regime. to this end, the general elections of 26th august 2023 and the truncated results are cancelled. the borders are closed until further notice. all the institutions of the republic are dissolved. gabon is a former french colony, located on the west coast of central africa. the electoral commission said president bongo had won just under two thirds of the votes in an election the opposition argued was fraudulent. concerns over delays in returning the election results led to an internet shutdown, and a night time curfew