[Mb-civic] Re: The diff. between Canada and US Leaders w/China

Fri Feb 4 14:45:54 PST 2005

Barbara

I'm disappointed in MacDonald's piece, which has been unfortunately reproduced by the World Tibet Network. It puts Canada in a bad light.
Thank you for forwarding it Barbara. I totally disagree with his writings.

Martin nor Canadians have ignored China's crimes, but diplomacy is a timing thing and there many more American/Euro/Asian firms there than Canadian, so I do not get his issue!

Even US Senator McCain in Davos said that China will be the world economic power in 15 years.

The real scary thing is that China has no debt, America's is in the high trillions. Canada is low double digit billions and getting lower every year.
I have no Idea of Euro, Japan, Australian, British debt or others.

It was China that gave monies to Putin/Russia to buy Yuko's oil properties. China is also looking at buying Noranda a major Canadian mining company, also Husky Oil and a host of others, which trade on the open market (NYSE , TSE, etc) with CA$H, not shares. Martin is very concerned about that, so he has to be careful, he is trying to protect Canadian natural resources for Canadians. We have experienced foreign companies exploiting our land, i.e. Exxon, Donahue, Monsanto, Shell, Enron, Bunge, Cargill, Petro Fina, ELF  etc......(it is a very long list)

Canada has Universal Health Care and our Military although small (we are increasing our budget, for Canadians "have told" their government that they want  a more capable force) is also out there Peace Keeping esp. Afghanistan. Point being we are trying to do good. We are highly taxed, up to 54% on the high end, a 15% sales tax on purchase almost all goods, and we still have a good quality of life, but we are only 35 million people trying to manage a very large county (infostructure)

Martin has proven to be a good human rights campaigner (Africa and reducing 3rd world debt, even Bono likes/hangs with him), so why Macdonald of the Toronto Sun (right wing) is dumping on him I do not know.

As far as getting votes, Martin has no plans for re-election in 4 years, he is in his late 60's, but he is running a minority government and that has it's problems as to decision making. He is trying to pass the same sex laws, but he is having problems with the Canadian Right  and American Right lobbyists who are pressuring the Conservative Party, the official opposition.

Yes Canada must deal with China economically, we would be fools not too.

Canada is not a perfect society, we have our issues, but we are trying to do our best and we are not doing to badly at it. On a per capita basis we are the best of the G7 in the matter of Human Rights, economic policy and debt management! So please tell me how much more can we do? 

Later H

PS sorry about the diatribe, but that article really pissed me off.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Barbara Siomos 
  To: mb-civic at islandlists.com ; harry.sifton at sympatico.ca 
  Sent: Friday, February 04, 2005 2:26 PM
  Subject: The diff. between Canada and US Leaders w/China

  World Tibet Network News
  Published by: The Canada Tibet Committee
  Editorial Board: Brian Given, Conrad Richter, Nima
  Dorjee, Tseten Samdup, Thubten (Sam) Samdup

  WTN Editors: wtn-editors at tibet.ca 
  __________________________________________2. PM ignores china crimes
  while bush fights for freedom (TS) 
  ---------------------------------------------- 
  The Toronto Sun
  By Bob MacDonald
  21 January 2005

  Martin is glossing over human rights 
  WHILE GEORGE W. Bush was dedicating his new term yesterday to "ending
  tyranny in our world," Paul Martin was defending the Communist police
  state of China's sorry record of human rights infractions.

  And that's the blunt difference between the American president as he
  enters his second four-year term and Canada's Liberal prime minister as
  he shakily clings to power.

  "America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the
  oppressed, America's influence is considerable and we will use it
  confidently in freedom's cause," declared Bush in his inaugural address
  heard around the globe.

  He contended America's own freedom is tied now to the success of freedom
  being established around the world, but the U.S. will not impose its own
  style of democratic government. "Our goal, instead, is to help others
  find their own voices, attain their own freedom, and make their own
  way," said Bush.

  Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Martin was telling a press
  conference in Beijing that the Chinese regime -- sometimes called the
  Beijing Butchers -- was making "considerable progress" in cleaning up
  its human rights atrocities. "I believe
  the (Chinese) government does understand that you cannot have reforms in
  one section without having reforms in the area of human rights. It's an
  essential area of human progress," he said.

  Right. But Martin didn't have the guts to state those words in public to
  the Beijing bosses or in any of his speeches during his visit. Any real
  mention of human rights was made in private to China's Premier Wen
  Jiabao. And that included a protest against China barring two
  Chinese-Canadian journalists from entering the country with him.

  Heck, Martin didn't even make any comment to the premier about the death
  this week of Zhao Ziyang, the Chinese premier who was purged after he
  showed sympathy for students who demanded more
  freedom 15 years ago in Tiananmen Square. That's
  when the government was named the Beijing Butchers after they had the
  army massacre thousands of the young students. Since then, Zhao
  was held in house arrest.

  A MARK OF RESPECT

  Even Jason Kenny, a Conservative MP who is part of the Canadian
  delegation, said he planned to visit Zhao's home as a mark of respect.
  He suggested Martin should do the same: "I think it would be an 
  elegant way for the prime minister to express Canada's solidarity with
  human rights in the world's largest country by paying his respects to a
  former premier." But Martin was careful to make any
  mention of his human rights concerns to a press conference not carried
  on any Chinese TV, radio or newspaper.

  Of course, all media are tightly controlled by the regime. It's called
  censorship. And, as far as we know, our courageous PM also failed to
  protest China's continued occupation and imposition of a form of
  genocide on Tibet. During the 53-year occupation, the Chinese invaders
  have killed 
  more than 1.2 million Tibetans by shootings, torture, rapes,
  imprisonment, forced labour and starvation.

  After a revolt in 1959, Tibet's spiritual and political leader, the
  Dalai Lama, escaped over the Himalayas to India. The Chinese have killed
  thousands of Buddhist monks and destroyed all but 40 of Tibet's 6,254
  monasteries. Thousands of the
  six million people had to flee into exile. So why is
  Martin so gutlessly quiet about China's crimes?

  Well, like his Grit predecessor, Jean Chretien, he thinks by
  "co-operating" with the Beijing comrades, Canada can improve its trade
  with the Communist giant. After all, who can really compete with a
  country of 1.3 billion people who use child and
  prison labour along with sweatshop wages for the
  masses? There are no strikes or meaningful unions
  in China. The result: China sold $18.3 billion of its
  cheap-labour goods to Canada in 2003 while Canada sold only $4.7 billion
  of our higher-labour-cost goods to China. And the gap is
  widening.

  Also, China is now the leading source of immigrants to Canada -- and
  that means voters that Martin and the Liberals constantly woo. They want
  to keep this "immigrant vote" happy. 

  So, while President Bush is out to spread freedom and democracy in the
  world, Martin is out to boost trade and pick up some votes.

  And to hell with this human rights stuff.

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  "You cannot do a kindness too soon for you never know when it will be too late"Ralph Waldo Emerson 
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