Replacing the Washington Consensus with the Beijing Consensus against our consent
It's been a long week of media massaging of NZ in preparation for our new Chinese overlords. The NZ Herald did endless story after endless story of how we all need to suck up to China and Dame Jenny Shipley who chairs the 'we are the Tibet of the Pacific' friendly association, took time away from clubbing baby seal pups to death with her bare hands and made a rare appearance on TVNZ's Q+A where she made soothing dulcet carbon-monoxide tones that we all need to allow ourselves to drift into a deep sleep we'll never awake from. All of this of course while one of the largest Chinese energy companies is in the South Island cutting deals to buy vast amounts of lignite and Solid Energy.
That softening up however has taken a bit of a blow in the wake of China arresting artists, bloggers and bizarrely deciding to arrest Christians for worshipping during Easter? I don't wish to nitpick, but isn't an intrinsic part of being a Christian the ritualistic worship of their religious holidays at certain times of the year, and that by denying them the ability to worship on Easter, Chine is effectively just arresting people for being Christian. Isn't that a little bit totalitarian?
Forgive me but are we all seriously considering falling under a new Beijing Consensus to replace the Washington Consensus that none of us gave our consent to? Do we really want a country that arrests Christians, artists and bloggers to have more influence on our economy?
Other than the Dark Lords of the Sith and the House of Slitherin, who on earth do bloggers, artists and Christians going to Church on easter threaten?
posted by Bomber @ 7:31 am
3 comments
3 Comments:
Well we know what happens to dictators, their dictates don't resonate on twitter.
I've recently experienced China's censorship, (they don't like you reading Tumeke from there), I think they may have the Twitter thing under control, certainly seem to have successfully blocked Facebook, prevented a population from being aware of the Nobel Prize etc. There were protests in Shanghai while I was there, I found out on my return, there was certainly no talk about it om the ground.
It seems there is a small movement of descent, amongst jailed artists and the odd blogger, but while the standard of living grows and the brainwashing continues, it isn't very evident.
We might as well put some pressure on them as citizens of the world though, given that our Governments won't.
http://www2.avaaz.org/en/artists_for_ai_weiwei/97.php?cl_tta_sign=e1168e51524cc9dd31ec3ac324aaf292
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