ANZAC Day, is a good time to think about who may kill our next generation of under equipped, under supported and under appreciated young soldiers.
From Sir Humphrey’s
A recently completed study by the Rand Corporation…shows that China is watching the United States closely and is devoting significant resources toward the development of highly technical, novel approaches to both defense and the projection of power. The potential for a conflict with the United States over the status of Taiwan is the driving force for Chinese military planning, the study says.
Why do we want a free trade deal with our most likely enemy in our (God forbid)next major war?
Buying cheap Chinese barbecues and Christmas trees makes no more sense than shipping scrap metal to Japan did in the ’30s.
Unless you want to take over their land as rewards for the loyal serverce of your generals. Or even more likely (with our forests, etc) if you think you can get more gain out of owning them than you can from trading with them – remember, the chinese have around 100,000,000 unemployed people scraping locusts of trees. China is not a pretty place for most people.
“If goods do not come across borders, troops will.”
Many reasonings for going to war involved reaching new markets. It’s not advantageous to kill your consumers.
You’re quite right about the socialists Cameron. I applaud the Green’s anti Chinese stance, but I wish they’d be consistent and dump their pro-socialist views (and MPs) in other areas. My views on China are no secret to ACT party members. I’ve also stated them quite clearly on this Blog as you well know. ACT is not like the Labour Party, we are allowed diversity of views. I think most ACT members are appalled by China’s human rights record, but believe that free trade will bring China to a more civilised outlook. I do not share that view. I believe China should be ostracised until she dumps the Communist Party. I have been oposed to the Beijing regime regime for thirty years Cameron and I won’t change until they do.
“Buying cheap Chinese barbecues and Christmas trees makes no more sense than shipping scrap metal to Japan did in the ’30s.”
Why don’t you raise this with the ACT Party? Your party fully supported NZ dropping it’s trade barriers to cheap crappy Chinese imports. ACT also hasn’t send anything negative about the proposed NZ-China FTA.
In the 1930’s it was trade unionists and socialists who were most active in opposing shipments of metal to Japan. Today it is the Greens who’re the most active in Parliament opposing NZ being an economic colony of China.