Ted: I think we can pretty much guarantee that our Political Masters have not raised any mention of China’s human rights record in all this. Why would they? It would get in the way of generating more money for the island and there’s nothing more important than the “Greenback” is there?!

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You must be the manager of Guernsey Finance’s Shanghai office. Who else from Shanghai would post on this forum?

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Really? Perhaps you should go tell that to the Tibetans, then they would be more appreciative of the way that the Chinese Government has driven their spiritual leader out of his own country, and the inhumane, horrific and totally unjustified genocide of their people at the hands of China, using such charming persuasions as enforced abortions and sterilisations.

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I accept that things have improved in recent years for the ordinary Chinese people for the same reason that it improved in the Soviet block. The productive inefficiency of the totalitarian system forced the introduction of a more open market economy which can only operate if the state relaxes some of its controls. Unfortunately, power in Russia has become unbalanced and the political oligarchs have been replaced by economic oligarchs and the result is a return to inefficiency.

However, the present Chinese regime, like the former soviet regime, believes that it can still retain totalitarian control while permitting previously forbidden freedoms. Time will tell.

The free peoples of the world should be using what influence they have to accelerate Chinese progress to an open society with at least the basic human rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (to use shorthand). Thus in dealing with the Chinese leaders, we should make it clear that we want to do business but not at the expense of the suffering of millions of ordinary people.

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Just finished reading ur comment.This is a reply from shanghai.i suggest that u should come to shanghai to experience the local culture .then u will know it’s not that bad as u thought.i cannot deny the part u mentioned about the death sentence still exists here,but u know no govt likes to deprive citizens’ human rights for no reasons. i dont like the death sentence either,but i believe it would not be a barrier against getting more links between the two cities.what’s more, the situation is improving.There are many more freedoms now than there were.the shadows which the history brought to us are fading.

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Sorry but you’re wrong, not me. No bank will ever issue an actual Guarantee in favour of one of its own subsidiaries. Years ago Lloyds Bank (as it was then) when asked if they would always support any of its subsidiaries if they failed was unable to give an unequivocal response. For that reason, and also for tax reasons (depending on which jurisdiction the parent resides) banks will not offer Guarantees.

The best that the GFSC would ever have expected to receive would be an MoU or a Letter of Comfort or something similar that would not be binding on the parent bank.

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There are over 60 crimes in China punishable by the death penalty. the number of executions carried out is a state secret. People in China are regularly given long prison sentences for doing things – such as criticizing members of the governing elite – which are considered a right in Guernsey. Every aspect of everyday life is rigidly controlled by the dictatorship.

If we are to have any dealings with this despicable regime, it should be on the basis that any improvement in our relationship should be dependent on concurrent improvement in China’s human rights record. Have our masters taken the opportunity to discuss this with our recent honoured guest.

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Or shall we just concentrate on those fees?

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No, that was a Parental Guarantee which is a different thing entirely.

And I see Arnald has to comment with his deranged rhetoric despite no doubt knowing that it is not the same thing at all.

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I’ve never known a business with such a collectively blinkered arrogance.

And that’s even before tackling the concept of using taxation as a business lever.

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No.

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MoU’s are, at best, just a promise to maybe make a promise where there are no penalties if the promises are not kept.

Don’t these people ever learn?

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