‘Guernsey is right to trade with China’
Thursday 11th November 2010, 1:00PM GMT.
TRADING with China is too good an opportunity to ignore despite its human rights record, local industry and political figures said yesterday.
‘I think it’s an excellent move,’ Chamber of Commerce director Barry Cash (pictured) said. ‘We have to look at all the opportunities that are available throughout the world.
‘The further that technology goes, the smaller the world becomes so the opportunity to trade with China is a wonderful one.’
But some raised serious concerns about Guernsey increasing dealings with a country that has been heavily criticised for human rights abuse.
‘I do have misgivings about it,’ said Deputy Matt Fallaize. ‘I would rather Guernsey did as little business as possible with countries involved in human rights abuse.’
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Maybe we should try selling them some milk?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/10/china-court-jails-father-tainted-milk-child
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Although China does have Human Rights Issues it has not stopped other countries dealing with them.
I dont think it should stop us either. I think we should adopt the stance where we deal with them like everyone else, which is gently mention human rights issues after taking their money.
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Guernsey just become’s another hypocrite cashing in on any opportunity. I have also yet to see a report that outlines what advantages we have gained by having an office in China. We have just lowered our standards to everyone elses.
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Anon makes a reasonable point – there is some merit to the belief that trying to influence from a position of relationship is far more effective than boycotts.
Let us not delude ourselves though. Does anyone really believe that Guernsey will be able to influence the Chinese government to improve their human rights record?
Considering they pay little regard to the leaders of the USA and UK, I can’t imagine they will be quaking in their boots at the sight of Trott, Parkinson and Flouquet….
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Paul..I quake in my boots when I hear the names you recall from your little mystic bag of politicians to remember….a trilogy of chopsticks if ever there was such a thing!
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China’s human rights record is indeed not clean, however no country can claim to have a clean human rights history. The idea that because at this very moment China’s human rights record is not as good as ours is a ridiculous reason to not do business with the country. China has built its present economy/legal system and more from ruins after the end of the Cultural Revolution concluded in 1976. In just over 30 years it has developed well, I consider it a cynical attitude to presume China will not improve in areas such as human rights in the future.
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So many incorrect posts here, including, to some degree, Paul Le Page’s. Of course Guernsey should boycot any dealings with China. The government of that country is evil as is their method of governing. With the world currently buying up China’s(often) cheaper goods at a frantic greedy pace, imagine what would happen if, with Guernsey leading the way, every one of the worlds democratic countries stopped buying Chinese goods ( including their garlic!!) and the flow of world cash into their country stopped.
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C Stuart
That’s not an argument. Countries can choose to over look the rights the Human Rights issue for trade if they want, but that makes them hypocritical when they choose not to trade with other countries under similar criticism.
The problem for me is that the finance industry feels itself above such bothers, yet the money they are dealing with came as a result of the impoverishment of the Chinese public at large. It is true they may improve worker conditions, democratic pronciples and some sort of ethical dimension to their economic growth, but that doesn’t really matter to Guernsey’s IFC does it? As Phil has said elsewhere “who cares? I’m a Guern through and through etc”.
Be that aside, how can you justify trading with wealth that is almost certainly a result of what we would consider corruptive practices. It’s well written about that mega wealthy didn’t get where they are today without resorting to unsavoury tactics.
Again, why should we care?
Well we would be perpetuating the problem. Making it see a worthwhile thing to do. In fact the more they do it, the richer we would get. Like a flea on a cash cow.
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Arnald
I am at odds as to where your problem lies. Do you have a problem with China or a problem with Guernsey’s finance industry or both? Your views are typical of someone who considers China’s rise in the global arena a threat, is this the case?
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C Stuart
Absolutely not. My views reflect a concern that there are reports of widescale human rights infringements. The same views as I hold about UK legislations when they are drafted.
I do not for one instant think that any competition to the US hegemony is a bad thing. Bring it on. But do it nicely.
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Go to the USA or Australia and everything seems to be made in China. So what good would it do for Guernsey to refuse to deal with China because of it’s appalling human rights record.
Commerce has no conscience because it’s all about making money. And lets face it if your rich your are looked up to no matter how you’ve made your money. And you can be as honest as honest can be, but if your poor with it who wants to know you.
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If we are not going to trade with China because of their human rights record then it begs the question: should we also boycott the USA (thinking of Guantanamo), or Germany because of the atrocities of WWII, or France because they once sank a Greenpeace ship, or the UK because of the “illegal” invasion of Iraq?
If we start picking and choosing who we do business with on the grounds that their government is corrupt or immoral, then that only leaves us free to trade only with Jersey.
What am I saying – do we trust Jersey?
What is hypocritical is all these bleeding-heart liberals who try to impose their values on the rest of us. If they can honestly say they do not own a single item with the words “Made in China” on it then I take back all that I have just said!
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