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China's free pass
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by politisite | January 30, 2008 at 10:37 pm
414 views | 5 Recommendations | 3 comments
China's free passPosted by Damian Lanigan on 31 Jan 2008 at 00:09
Tags: China, Hu Jintao, Gordon Brown, Beijing Olympics, Hu Jia
China's government is rounding up human rights activists in preparation for the Olympics. Hu Jia is under house arrest for the crime of airing mild criticism of the regime's priorities. The piece in the International Herald Tribune speaks of the governments attempts to "cleanse" the place of dissent. Beijing in August will be a gigantic Potemkin village, and nobody seems to be bothered. The amount of fawning that western governments have to indulge in with the repressive regime is humiliating at a civilisational level. We may need these people, but don't need to get out the knee pads any time we're around them. It was the fulfilment of a lifelong dream for Ken Livingstone when he daubed the South Bank Maoist Red in November 2005 to celebrate Hu Jintao's state visit. But did the Queen have to dress to match? Gordon Brown spent so much time bent over backwards on his recent trip it was a surprise he could climb the steps to get on the plane home.
Gordon Brown in China
Western leaders shouldn't allow a veil to be drawn over China's flaws
At the risk of boring the realpolitik-ers and the Sinophile business leaders here's a real quick refresher course in governance CPC-style. It's from the letter Human Rights Watch sent to Brown on the eve of his trip:
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (3)
at 22:48 on January 30th, 2008
politisite,You know I am all for keeping activists from crapping in their own yard, but to detain them without warrant speaks volumes why Canada and similar democratic countries are the best in the world, we have our problems, but they are minor compared to despots like China.
at 06:41 on January 31st, 2008
As long as China owns (and continues to acquire) such large chunks of the US's national debt, Beijing will do as it pleases. Their hosting of the Olympics is a microcosm of that situation.
at 11:41 on January 31st, 2008
Jordan pretty much hit it on the head, as well as Saudi Arabia who control much of the US Seaports through Saudi owned shipping and security companies, as I have said a million times in my previous stories on here. We are outsourcing our birthright.