The Chronicle of Scotland's Independence Referendum
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E-mail China.org.cn, September 19, 2014
In August 2014, in order to promote the independence referendum, First Minister of the Scottish Government Alex Salmond appeared in two TV debates against the Labour Party, which supports national unity.
In August, according to the figures from various research institutions, there was a net outflow of US$27 billion from the U.K., which was the largest monthly capital withdrawal from the U.K. since the financial crisis in 2008.
On Aug. 13, the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said that no matter how the referendum ended, the Bank of England was prepared. U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said that if Scotland got independence, the Scottish government would not be able to use the British pound sterling as its currency, and England would not accept Scotland into its monetary union.
On Aug. 14, according to reports from Royal United Services Institution, if Scotland wins independence, England's nuclear submarine base will probably move out of Scotland.
On Aug. 27, over 130 leaders of international enterprises released a public letter opposing Scotland's independence.
On Sept. 7, Queen Elizabeth II called in Prime Minister Cameron for worrying about Scotland's independence.
On Sept. 10, Prime Minister Cameron and the leader of the British Labour Party, Ed Miliband, went to Scotland separately to try to reach a compromise with Scottish leaders.
On Sept. 14, Queen Elizabeth II made her first statement about the referendum, asking Scottish citizens to "think carefully."
On Sept. 15, the leaders of three major political parties in England signed an agreement promising to delegate more rights of autonomy to Scotland as long as it gives up the referendum.
On Sept. 15, the White House commented carefully on Scotland's referendum, saying that the United States will respect the result of referendum and hopes that the U.K. will continue to be strong, prosperous and united.
On Sept. 16, Canada declared that they would not recognize Scotland as an independent country.
On Sept. 16, Prime Minister Cameron released his final exhortation to Scottish citizens. He abandoned all pretense of tenderness and warned Scotland that the independence process would be a painful divorce with no chance of turning-back. He also promised to delegate more rights to Scotland if the referendum does not pass.
On Sept.16, an opinion poll conducted by the survey agency ICM for the newspaper Scotsman reported that the number of Scottish voters who support independence increased by 3 percentage points to 48% of voters, while 52% of voters support remaining part of the U.K.
On Sept. 18, Scotland officially began the voting for its Independence Referendum. The result of the vote is supposed to be released on the morning of September 19. Police authorities said they were well prepared to maintain order during and after the referendum.
According to a plan issued by Scottish Government, if the referendum passes, Scotland will become officially independent in March 2016.
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