The Freedom Of China

[youngmafbog]

Now i know there are some on here who dont think China is a communist state anymore, but just what is going on here?

http://news.sky.com/story/1454223/outrage-at-china-treatment-of-activists

Are we in the West prepared to let China take over the world, at least economically, when this is what they do?

We hear plenty on Muslim extremists, but is this really any better?

[sandyRoe]

There'll come a time when America will look for a casus belli so that they can ensure that the Chinese don't become the world's no 1 superpower.

[Gromit]

Whilst China has modernised economically and industrially, politically they are still rather backwards.
The are a dictatorship run by a gang of old dullards, and this kind of oppression is standard practice for such regimes - see Russia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan et al.

[jno]

Are we in the West prepared to let China take over the world

"prepared"? Do you have some alternative which will ensure they treat dissidents nicely when they become top dog?

But since you ask - I don't think they behead prisoners with rusty knives live on camera, so yes, they are better.

[sandyRoe]

Would the communist Party functionaries who help run China have the same role now as the Mandarins once did?

[jno]

I suppose so, sandyRoe, but they no longer have to sit the exams

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_examination

[naomi24]

//We hear plenty on Muslim extremists, but is this really any better? //

No comparison.

[Gromit]

// Five female protesters are being held for "picking a quarrel... //

Don't go giving AOG ideas.

[youngmafbog]

When I say prepared I mean do we turn a blind eye to their activites in exchange for cheap goods and labour?

// I don't think they behead prisoners with rusty knives live on camera//

Most beheadings are not live on camera and I doubt the knives are rusty. On the subject of execution China is way above the rest of the world and for very little reason in many cases.

[youngmafbog]

Sorry Naomi but I disagree. Both run tyranical regimes and murder their populous if they dont do what they say.

Ok, they have different reasons but the end result is pretty much the same.

[Zacs-Master]

Cheap goods and labour. A vast oversimplification of our relationship with China and a bit of a naive view of world economy.

[naomi24]

youngmafbog, China confines it to home. They're not going to rant and rave and call for your blood because you're criticising them.

[Gromit]

Not wishing to defend anyones execution record, but China executed 2,400 people last year, but that is from a population of 1.3billion. In most cases the deaths were of Murderers, rapists and criminals. Few, if any were for no good reason.

[youngmafbog]

// They're not going to rant and rave and call for your blood because you're criticising them. //

Hmm, try going to Tianamen square and critising them.

No Zacs, cheap goods and labour have nothing to do with anything do they?

Just because I didnt write a thesis on China's place in the economy does not mean I dont know about it. Why didnt you tell us instead of just trying to put me down? Or dont you know?

[youngmafbog]

Only 2,400 chinese so its not a problem eh Gromit?

[Zacs-Master]

I didn't say they didn't have anything to do with it. It's quite the reverse and the unpalatable but realistic situation is, yes, that's wahat makes the financial world turn.
I take it you have no Goods whatsoever that were made in China in your house? Best be careful.

[Gromit]

As I suspected, China are not the higest based on per capita of population.

// According to officially released governmental figures, the human rights organization Amnesty International estimates that Singapore has the highest execution rate in the world, at 13.65 hangings per 1,000,000 residents. Saudi Arabia has the second-highest rate, at 4.65 per 1,000,000. //

[naomi24]

But you're not in Tiananmen Square so you're quite safe.

[Jackdaw33]

The Soviet penal code included a catch-all offence of 'hooliganism'. It reminds me of my time in the RAF when, if they couldn't get you for anything else, they'd get you under s. 69 of the Air Force Act, '...conduct prejudicial to good order and Air Force discipline'.

[DTCwordfan]

Lee Kwan Yu, bless his cotton socks, summed this up very aptly, "Principles of Democracy will not take place until GDP hits $20,000." There's a lot of truth to this, I feel - China is well short of this figure....... also throw into the pot, the impact of Confucianism and the very fact that the country has lived under various dynasties all these centuries, including the latest lot. Communist China is just the latest in that line, the imperial titles changed.

[jno]

I always thought you took a dim view of huma... sorry, ooman rights, ymb. Are you suggesting we should press China to adopt them? You haven't always had good words to say when European courts enforce them.