open Democracy News Analysis - The China fantasy, Patrice de Beer - Comments

James Secor on "The China fantasy"

James Secor — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 23:58:46 +0100

Yes! Yes! Yes! Let's bash the hell out of China. America is great and wonderful and does nothing bad ever, anywhere, especially at home where it, too, is a democracy in name only--about as democratic as Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia or Ghengis Kahn's China. Bash, bash, bash! The US trade deficit is China's fault. All China's fault. After all, China didn't have to sell things to the US, did it? {in a very low tone, repeat after me, "Duh. . ."} The US doesn't export fake or bad drugs. No! It doesn't export any drug to help anyone except on a scale no one can afford. Its drugs have such horrible side-effects that people must take MORE DRUGS to take care of that problem. And let's look to drugs that KILL and actually cause other diseases, drugs that are developed and used by even the food industry. In America. China doesn't make fake drugs. America makes fake "intellectual property rights" to restrict the make and sale of drugs to itself. China says, fuck you big phrma! While at the same time working hand-in-hand with world drug manufacturers. . .and putting price controls in place so more people have access to medication across the board than any American, thank you very much. Oh, no, no, no, no, NO! Everything good comes from America. I note but nobody else does that journalists when James Mann were here were restricted in their travel and who they spoke with. So, what does Mann know? (pun intended) So China is a repressive government? So is The United States of America. So are most governments in today's world. To coin a phrase, What else is new? Want a democracy? Go to another world. There are plenty out there. When you get there, tell me what exactly do you mean by democracy and how are you going to make it work. . .because Democracy in America is bought and paid for and bought democracy is an oligarchy or a monarchy or a simple tyranny. Take your pick. Stephen Popper: any country that marginalizes even one human is a psychotic country. A country with so many prisons and so many ways of putting you in prison--excluding the gulags and renditions--is a psychotic country. So. . .let's drum up some more fear propaganda for China. Let's create an enemy where there is none. Communism? Let's just say all communism is alike when it's not. Since Americans like to onlly get their information from books--experience to hell!--try reading Chalmers Johnson. America is losing the world big time. America is going to the dogs in a bobsled down a melting glacier. America's afraid it's losing what it never really had and, today, it's all China's fault. {hnn! and stamp your cute little foot at this point} jimsecor, expat Ph.D., disabled and alive

intermedusa on "The China fantasy"

intermedusa — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 06:15:06 +0100

THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF GLOBALIZATION China is a threat to democracy and freedom throughout the World. Right now the Chinese leadership in an attempt to placate the US and maintain its huge trade surplus is talking the talk of Peaceful Rise and Military Expansion solely for defensive purposes but it is not walking the walk. The Government of China has absolutely no right to rule. It is one of the most ruthless and criminal governments in the world. It was expected that with economic growth China would eventually develop a middle class that would demand political power and democratically reform the country. China would go the way of South Korea /Taiwan. The reality is that China is getting worse not better. The rule of law and any hope of even a glimmer of democratic freedoms are being ruthlessly crushed. Not only that but China is using its growing economic power to support it’s brother criminal governments such as Sudan, Burma, Zimbabwe etc. China is cleverly employing trade as a military weapon virtually conquering countries without a shot being fired through the ruthless economic black mailing of nation states. It is decimating the manufacturing base of Africa and Latin American countries buying only raw materials and importing such cheap Chinese manufactured goods that the local indigenous industry cannot compete. This is having a devastating impact on the manufacturing base of these countries. This is a grave threat to democracy and freedom. The great unknown in all this – the modernization of the Chinese military that because of the lack of transparency appears to be going far and beyond what is necessary for purely defensive purposes. It is time to open our eyes to the very real danger China poses. Democratization of Globalization In addition to depriving China of its veto power on the Security Counsel (go to www.unitednationswatch.info), the West must move immediately to dramatically correct the massive trade imbalances that they have allowed China to accumulate. This means the reallocation of $ 350 billion of production out of China and into third world democratic countries. This would be done over a 10 year period i.e. 35 billion/year. (The United States presently sells $28 billion to China and imports $228billion – a whopping $200 billion deficit. A real sucker’s deal if there ever was one. A sucker’s deal that is devastating the wages and economic future of the American Middle Class. The EU has a deficit of $150 billion. Sucker number 2.) These countries include Mexico, Central and South America, India, and Africa where the US $200 billion share would be shifted. The EU $150 billion - to Romania, Bulgaria, the Balkans, Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Africa, India. The only stipulation is that these countries must purchase an equivalent amount of high end production from the US and the EU to modernize their economies. In this way everybody wins. The US/EU dramatically reduces their trade deficit. The $200 billion coming back into the US/EU economy in high end technology jobs translates into an $800 billion economic bonanza. An economic bonanza for the besieged Middle Classes of both the US and EU. The benefits of Globalization goes to the needy hard working poor of democratic nations. And the hard working down trodden Middle Classes of the West. The pouring of its trade imbalance with China by the EU into its Near Abroad will dramatically shift the balance of power to democratic forces of the Ukraine, Turkey etc and drastically reduce the costs of the EU eventually absorbing these counties as member states. Globalization becomes a vehicle not to enrich one greedy, criminal state but to benefit the entire third world. As previously explained - the transfer of trade wealth from the West to the third world and spreading it around comes back to the West through the purchase of high end technology to be used to modernize these third world countries. Trade becomes a tool to spread freedom and democracy. The Democratization of Globalization. One of the important reasons for the NAFTA Agreement was to encourage US industry to set up in Mexico leading to an economic boom – The Economic Rise of Mexico. Instead, because of cheap Chinese slave labor and no labor or environmental regulations (as required by NAFTA) these factories closed and re-located to China. As a result, millions of unemployed Mexicans poured into the United States. Not only that but the enormous importation of product from China is requiring the USA to invest hundreds of billions into transportation infrastructure just to move it inland from the California ports. An absolutely idiotic situation. The re-distribution of part of the Chinese trade surplus back to Mexico will help stabilize and truly lead to its economic rise. This will lead to a dramatic drop in illegal immigration from Mexico to the US. And Mexico importing an equivalent value of US high end technology will be a reciprocal economic shot in the arm for the United States. As for China, the stripping of its veto power at the UN and re- allocation of its trade excesses with the West will force the Chinese government to reform politically and economically or die. Its time for the United States /EU to wake up before it’s too late. Its one thing for the West to be despised and hated but treated with RESPECT rather then to be despised hated and treated with contempt. Written By, Larry Houle E-mail: intermedusa@yahoo.com www.chinademocracy.net

The China fantasy, Patrice de Beer

admin — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 12:55:53 +0100

China is preparing for the Olympic games in Beijing in 2008, an event the communist regime plans to turn into a celebration of nationalistic pride and its own indomitable power. A year before the torch is lit, this very regime is facing a far less enticing prospect: accusations that its country is the source of major food-and-drug scares with fatal consequences as a result of the uncontrolled exports of counterfeited goods.

China can rightly feel proud of having become, in just two decades, the world's factory and a major trade player, as well as of having facilitated the emergence of a booming new middle class out of an egalitarian society. But these successes have come at a cost: a still very repressive regime at home and a worrying lack of control on tradable goods (whether for domestic or export consumption) with fragile safety barriers.

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