Saturday, March 15, 2008

The China Syndrome?

Can anyone watch what is going on in Tibet, the killing of protesters, foreigners being ordered to leave the country so that the world cannot see their atrocities, a brutal and violent suppression of a people wanting control of their own country, can you watch this and tell me why it is that we are so eager to have relations with China?

Can you tell me how it ever happened that a country where the people are killed by the state, jailed for any sort of dissension, kept from knowing what is happening in the rest of the world by state control of news, including the internet, was selected to hold the Olympics - a country that takes children from their homes to train them for whatever sport that they show an aptitude for so that China can win medals?

Can you tell me why we want to make China a preferred trading partner, a country that pays its workers meager wages and which has no hesitation is using poisonous ingredients in food exported around the world to end up on our tables and in our pets' dishes?

Can you tell me why we are even importing food from a country where farmers sleep with their animals and chickens, causing them and their families to contract diseases that will eventually be spread around the world causing countless deaths? Why our food manufacturers are not required to tell us when their products contain ingredients from this backward, conscienceless country?

I realize that it is probably impossible to completely boycott Chinese products, but I, for one, am going to give it a try. Although I respect our Canadian athletes and wish them the best in the Olympics, I will not be watching any of it on our state-run television station. I hope that some of you will join me in my own personal boycott.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You're supporting Tibet, who before China arrived, had a serf-based political system where people were born into slavery? I'd suggest you do a bit of research before blindly following causes you read about. Indeed, the Tibetan word "Shangri-la" means "Lords and Llamas", giving you a good view of Tibetan values. Tibet in no way values freedom and I find it ironic that the people of Tibet who would deny more than half their own nation freedom now have no freedom themselves. I guess you do reap what you sow.

Police stupidity