Update Note: In today's paper it is reported that a Motion put forward by our Conservative Party in Parliament, condemning China for its harsh crack-down on Hong Kong was defeated by the gutless trilogy led by our Liberal Government and supported by the New Democratic Party and the Green Party. SHAME
In 1997 Prince Charles handed over Hong Kong to the Chinese on the understanding that there would be 2 forms of government ...a more liberal and open government for Hong Kong and a more dictatorial and closed one for the rest of China. China is now in blatant opposition to that agreement. I would hope if I were Prince Charles that I would have the courage to go back to Hong Kong to remind China of their agreement some 23 years ago.
But China's Jinping is by far and away worse.
And I am not talking about viruses, or Hong Kong, or denial of human rights, or Taiwan; or lack of rule of law; or imprisoning Canadian Citizens without cause; or locking up their journalists who write anything negative about the glorious State Dictatorship etc etc.
I am referring to International Trade...that which makes the world go round and that which is needed to see the world go forward and truly put the current pandemic behind us.
Both Trump and Xi use their offices to continually mess with Unfeddered Trade but Xi is the most ruthless of the two and both personages spell trouble for the World Economy if they continue to hold office.
But at least the USA is a Democracy...China is a Dictatorial, Ruthless Nation.
In that regard, I have read many articles of late suggesting that we in the West should simply stop trading with China but that would be a fool-hardly and self defeating thing to do.
If China can provide things cheaper and with relative quality we would be fools to cut that off. If for its petty purposes, they cut us off something, we simply go tit for tat and cut off a comparable amount of things that China wishes to receive from us. And we look elsewhere to get what the Chinese have stopped sending to us.
I have used similar examples in the past...but if Country A can produce apples at twice the quality and half the cost that Country B does - it borders on stupidity for the latter to not take advantage of that. Country B can then focus on trading items - let's say Oranges - that it can produce better and at less cost than Country A.
Indeed China is only hurting itself when it plays games with Trade and they are certifiable for playing such a game. It has made $Trillions in trade, raised Millions out of Poverty and now has the world's second biggest economy... soon be number one.
So Galagher are you saying we simply keep trading with China and turn a blind eye to all their negatives much like what Canada's Progressive Government appears so keen n doing?
NOT AT ALL.
I have said in previous blogs and recently read in a major newspaper editorial suggesting that the Democracies of the world ...a club of less than 30 nations out of nearly 200, need to come together and form their own Organizations to mirror but not replace the UN type of Associations.
Let's call this Club The Democracies of the World Club (DWC) and other countries - the remaining 170, will be free to join the DWC as soon as they can prove that they too have truly become Democratic and support the Rule of Law.
Leave the Dictators to sputter and spew in the UN and related organizations ....talking never hurts and it will give them something to occupy their time. But for the real work - let's leave it to the Democracies.
Watch how fast countries like China come around ...they have too much to lose - i.e. hard cash.
As I See It...
'K.D. Bell'
