Re: China

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: : : : : : : : Is there any truth to this idea that China has something up its : : : : sleeve? That it now has an impressive collection of high-tech : : : : weaponry that could compete with the US and that it has plans to : : : : increase it's power in the world by some secret technology or : : : : advancement. I've heard it has serious disputes with the US. I : : : : also know that in Canada, Jean Cretian is working hard to further : : : : the ties with China and I'm wondering what the big deal is about? : : : : Are there reasons why it has become so important and is being : : : : discussed more in the media? I know little about China save that : : : : it is a communist country with the largest population and will be : : : : taking back Hong Kong in July. Is there any validation why some : : : : seem to fear the possible future actions of this country? : : : Great article on China in the NY Times - Sunday - Week in Review : : : section - cleared a few matters up for me. It appears that China has : : : been spending a bit of money in the US similar to what Japan did in : : : the 80s but not with as much success. It doesn't seem like there is : : : anything to be worried about here. : : On the contrary, there are some reasons to be concerned about China. : : I haven't heard anything about the high-tech weaponry you speak of, : : but I have heard that the US is turning a blind eye to China's nuclear : : weapons proliferation, among other things. The reasons for this, as : : is so often the case with foreign policy, are economic. Normally US : : foreign policy places restrictions on trade with any nation testing or : : manufacturing nuclear weapons. However, China has been awarded a : : "Most-favored Nation" trade status by the US despite that fact that it : : has been doing just that. China also has an abysmal record on human : : rights. As is well known, it makes political prisoners of anyone who : : makes any serious criticism of its government, and these political : : prisoners are often beaten and tortured. : : The reason that China has not been subjected to the usual restricions : : is that the huge profits of many US companies rely on the exploitation : : of China's huge pool of cheap labor. I suspect that this is also the : : reason why Jean Cretian wants to strengthen ties with China. According : : to a recent edition of "Dateline NBC", about 80-90% of the toys sold : : in the US are made in China, as well as many other products. These US : : companies, not wanting to lose their profits, put enormous pressure on : : the US government to allow unrestricted trade with China, despite its : : human rights abuses. Some of these abuses are directly supported by : : US business, as many of the Chinese laborers who maunfacture their : : products are subjected to sweatshop conditions. These : : laborers often work 12+ hour shifts and are beaten if they : : fall asleep on the job. In addition, factory doors are usually locked : : so no one can sneak out. This has resulted in the deaths of hundreds : : of Chinese workers in the last couple of years when fires have : : destroyed some of the factories. The workers, being locked in, : : couldn't get out. : : The US government has cited some recent Chinese reforms as the reason : : why China has been given the "Most-favored Nation" status, but these : : reforms have been purely economic, moving many of its coastal : : manufacturing towns toward a capitalist economy. To my knowledge, : : little or no pressure has been put on China by the Clinton : : administration regarding human rights or nuclear weapons. In fact, : : one of the biggest areas of concern about China voiced by the US : : government and media has been over intellectual property rights, such : : as the pirating of US compact discs by small-time Chinese criminals. : : : Massive amount of info there - thank ya. : The article I refered to did allude to the idea that US wasn't raising much of a fuss b/c of the profit it recieves - it was quite clear to me that this was the case and I'm surprised (probably a little naive too) that this is allowed to go on. I also read that China is changing their laws a bit - no longer allowing prisoners to be held without reason for more than 30 days - this of course has had the adverse effect of hammering down on the many that are in prison right now for no justifiable reason. I know there's been a bit of work done regarding the human rights problem in China but I haven't heard much about it. Is it that important that the US/Canada continue to ignore such matters for the sake of business? Doesn't China rely on the US for similar reasons? : I was thinking more along the lines that US had other reasons for not wanting to piss China off. There are rumours that if the US doesn't treat China with a gentle hand, China might have something to harm us - it looks like it's all a matter of economics here and I can't see how that justifies the rest of the picture.

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