The Chinese regime's crackdown in Tibet and our government's lacklustre response has raised an important question: where do we set the line on human rights and free trade? How many people does a regime have to kill or torture or force to work in sweatshops before we decide that we will do no favours for them and we do not want their tainted money? The Greens' Keith Locke will be trying to get an answer on the government's moral limits in Question Time today:
3. KEITH LOCKE to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: What human rights abuses, if any, would lead him to advise the Prime Minister to reconsider the April signing of a preferential trade agreement with China?Unfortunately, I don't expect any real answer. Instead, I expect Locke will be showered with abuse for daring to ask such an uncomfortable question. Which in itself will speak volumes about the immorality of the government's position.
Update: As predicted, evasion and abuse. Our government seems to have no moral limit in trade policy at all. "Fuck the morals, does it make any money" seems to be the name of the game.
