A protester, Weni Wang who got into media event with President Bush and President Hu Jintao of China shouts “President Bush, make him stop persecuting Falun Gong!” Religious sect is, in fact, being persecuted by China, no doubt about it…Nevertheless media are concerned that China is upset…Bush is angered and apologizes to Hu…Also a White House announcer, introducing the arrival of President Hu gives his nation the title “Republic of China” which is Taiwan, China’s old enemy causing media to be horrified…Media are anguished: U. S. must not tread on China’s toes and allowing protester into the press pool, even though she represented a source that normally would be admitted (a Falun Gong outlet which under our rules would deserve legitimate access), it was wrong and diplomatically insensitive to rile the Chinese president.
My view: President Hu should feel the heat from dissent in a free country, even if news of it gets sharply tailored for Chinese consumption. Your views?
George Will said it best today on the This Week Roundtable: ... if we trade with them and do business with them then they will forsake their Communist Totalitarian ways and become sweet, nice world citizens. The intellectual think tank phrase is "constructive engagement".
ReplyDeleteSo the business men rushed in attracted by the corporate "cocaine" of 17 cent per hour labor. Town after town in the USA has been gutted of its good paying manufacturing jobs especially in the Midwest. What is left is a Wal-Mart/McDonald's economy of low wage. Yet we are told by everyone from Rush Limbaugh to George Bush that such one way trade is "Good for Us!" These think tank neo-con intellectuals should travel to the towns and cities that have been hurt by their blind faith in "free trade" and "constructive engagement". I could list the towns and cities that have been badly damaged by these policies.
But then I look at the big mark-ups on the slave wage Chinese made items and realized it is ALL ABOUT the big markup at any cost.
Then we forget because of that "big markup" about the patent abuse and the human rights abuse. The problem is the people who are being abused in China are not JEWISH OR BLACK with powerful congressional constituancies. Remember when the Jewish intellecuals like Andre Sakarov were being persecuted in the Soviet Union, we went in the Helsinki Accords and had Economic sanctions against the Soviet Union. Same thing with apartheid South Africa. We put economic sanctions against South Africa. There was NO talk of constructive engagement! You could not even imagine using "constructive engagement" with Hitler's Germany!
But with Communist China, it is a big "so what", after all we are making money, money, money.... and who cares about the abuse of the Christian Church both Catholic and Protestant or of the Falon Gong or the sale of body parts, or the forced abortions, or the inability of the people to request a raise, or the lack of our treasured Bill of Rights.
No... its all about the money, money, money, and everything else be damned.
Even with the HUGE trade deficit, the intellectuals say SO WHAT..... as long as we are making money, money, money on their worker's products.
And then there is that MAMMOTH military buildup in China well documented in Bill Gertz's superb books. And no one cares as long as we can make MONEY MONEY MONEY
off the Chinese low wage worker.
....maybe the Chinese communists are the smartests communists of all because they are "making the rope" that will hang us as they with he help of the President and the Congress sell out our Country's economic base for short term profits and in the process destroy Middle America and the middle class.
Lowry (on Newshour) and others have noted that the more important meeting was in Seattle with Microsoft and Boeing, not with Bush in Washington.
ReplyDeleteDid Hu feel any "heat" there?
Dear Bill Watson, I am sorry your anti-free market thinking is giving you a heart attack. I too have seen towns hurt by manufacturing jobs leaving. Well, they would be leaving either way because no tariff in the world will stop companies from trying to get $.17 an hour wage. Galesburg itself has lost many jobs and is now recovering by adapting itself to global economy. I am so sorry that towns have to change the way they do things to stay competitive. Oh so sorry. Stop acting like free-trade hurts our economy. Unemployment is at its lowest point since the 1960s and inflation is in check. Our economy is great. I for one, will not complain.
ReplyDeleteOf course Hu should feel the heat of protest. (And I wonder if our gov't intentionally let the Falun Gong reporter in, & gave the wrong name for China, to balance the 21-gun salute etc.)
ReplyDeleteBut we need to stand up to China, like Reagan did to the USSR. I try to not buy
products from there, when possible. BTW,
Wal-Mart sells a lot that's *not* from China, as well as a lot that is.
The gov't will not stand up to China unless it is pressured to do so. Especially with the strong pressure from big business to not rock the boat.
Galesburg a success?
ReplyDeleteBut what about this from the paper:
"Social service officials say demand increased at least 25% this year for food housing and other assistance programs in this city of about 33,000. About 2000 people had to be turned away when the money ran out to help people pay utility bills. Its heartbreaking, these folks were faithful contributors to lots of social and human service organizations and not not to be able to meet their needs is frustrating.
Globalism a success in Galesburg? Hardly!
The jobs created only pay a fraction of the amount paid by the jobs lost. But Flannery, people like you are absolutely wrong to think that these areas are going to recover to the LEVEL of where they once were. This is not going forward.... it is going backward in a big low wage race to the bottom.
Go on just keep believing the lie until it catches up to you.
Our "embarassment" over what happened to President Hu reflects what happens when you value free trade more than freedom.
ReplyDeleteTom you have it right "My view: President Hu should feel the heat from dissent in a free country, even if news of it gets sharply tailored for Chinese consumption. Your views?"
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bill Watson, Joseph Pine and David Graf as well. Our country has sold out America in pursuit of the almighty dollar in the short term. Both sides are guilty as both Clinton and Bush appease the Communist Chinese for economic reasons (and we are lax in our national security as many cases of Chinese espionage have occurred with weak response from our government under both administrations).
The left in Seattle greeted Hu with open arms (Gates and the Democratic Senator from Washington among others) who will sell out the human rights of the Chinese people to make a buck. Not to be undone editorials in the WSJ cheerlead and Bush welcomes one of our greatest enemies with open arms.
Our corporations are sending as many jobs (except the CEO's of course) overseas. We do not have "free trade" with China. China has tariffs which prevent almost all goods and services produced in America to be overpriced. Meanwhile, business petitions government to allow anything and everything from China in without the same restrictions.
I am for fair trade - trade with the same protections for American workers and companies as given toward our overseas competitors. In a perfect world there would be no tariffs but that is not the case. We need the American government and people running corporate America to back America and Americans and not sell out our nation's future for a few dollars more.
And I want to thank that brave Chinese Doctor who raised her voice - something 1 billion Chinese are prevented from doing by a government assisted by Yahoo, Google and other companies who report dissidents to keep the money flowing.