This morning's Herald carried an editorial on Hitching our wagon to the Dragon, in which they discussed the prospects of a free trade agreement with China. It had some very specific advice on what the New Zealand government should pay attention to in its negotiations:
Already its manufacturing capacity is feared in the US, which questions its adherence to rules of patent and intellectual property.New Zealand in its enthusiasm for a free trade agreement must uphold the need for China to observe all international rules and conventions of investment, property rights, market access and cross-border competition.
Not human rights, not forced labour or execution, but property rights and patents.
I think this shows quite clearly what our business community cares about, and how twisted their priorities are.
2 comments:
And the self-congratulatory, toadying "interview" with David Hastings was no better. Human Resources, yes; human rights, no.
All part of the softening up process I suppose.
Anyway, not to worry says Chinese Herald editor Jerry Yang. Chinese citizens will only continue to be abused for "a period of time" until the "stresses come off". We just need to get off China's back and allow it to increase its economic and political dominance.
Whew, that's OK then.
Posted by Jarvis Pink : 4/08/2006 12:34:00 PM
That Hastings interview was an absolute disgrace. More like a sycophantic puff-piece that looked like it'd been commissioned by the Chinese Ministry of Information.
This passage here was one of the worst:
"I asked him about the kind of qualities needed to handle the day-to-day running of the world's biggest nation and he offered selflessness and hard work but said the Chinese people were really the ones to ask.
The only ones around at the time were members of his staff and embassy officials who, not surprisingly, spoke in admiring tones of a leader who is famous as a man of the people, possessed of the common touch and even charismatic."
So the Chinese people are really the ones to ask? Then why not, say, give them elections??? That Hastings failed to ask Wen this simple question, and didn't even allude to the lack of democracy in his article is simply staggering.
Posted by Anonymous : 4/08/2006 05:40:00 PM
Post a Comment
(Anonymous comments are enabled).