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Is it time to ostracise China?

The West is obviously threatened by China, but to a large degree it's our own silly fault. Before Covid came to light, I was horrified by a news story; A young girl had been opening the Christmas cards that they had bought from Tesco. Inside one was a note from the political prisoner who had packed them. Apart from the political prisoner labour camp subject, how have we come to importing Christmas cards by the container from China instead of buying our own home produced or even home made?
We are dependant on China from all the c**p that we buy because it is so cheap and we don't want to pay the price that it would cost a well paid factory to produce over here.
And because of our dependance, our foreign policy is very softly softly. As it is towards Saudi Arabia because we want their oil.
China should be held to account for Covid. It was wholly avoidable. It is not the only country with live animal markets though.
But whilst we are still buying their Christmas cards not a lot will happen.
We can have what we want, because it is cheap from China.
I'd rather pay more for my Apple MacBook if it was made in the USA, but I'd expect it to be serviceable and upgradable as well. Made to last.
 
I have, and suggest you do the same.
You wrote “oldest civilization on the planet”, nothing about ongoing, so I gave you examples of older ones.
Anyway, good you had a laugh, and I hope it was therapeutic.
 
Yes it does. What I wrote was that if I was to pay more, I'd want it to be serviceable as well. It could be so now. But it is designed not to be.
 
tqineil said:
I used to work in Shanghai 20+years ago, amazing city and interesting folk... was probably spied upon but do remember the first time I landed at Pudong and got a lively taxi-ride to the city centre - lay on the bed, put on the TV and low and behold... Tranmere Rovers were live in a Cup game...marvellous!
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I worked there 20 years ago too for Kantar, Taylor Nelson Sofres as they were called then. I lived near the US embassy. Just after having done 5 years in Bangkok.

I didn't like it, the bland food, spitting on restaurant floors, pushing in queues, the girls weren't so pretty, and it seemed a bit expensive, I didn't get on with my team, they weren't too keen on me either. So I bailed out after a year. The most bizarre experience was the two that did not like me were having an extra-marital affair together and somehow ended up getting killed after a night out in a hit and run crossing a dual carriageway, which was viewed by my company as possible murder. One of them was my boss and so I went to her funeral. It was horrible. She had been all smashed up and reconstructed for an open coffin ceremony. And we all had to walk past her and do a little bow.
 
k90tour said:
A point I failed to make, all this shipping throw-away goods around the world is causing it much damage in so many ways.
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What i cannot believe is that as they are now a super-power they still get away with the cheap international postage rates via the Univeral Postal Union. China is still treated as a poor country so is allowed to get stuff sent anyway in the world for virtually no fee. Without this benefit ali express would suffer terribly. It must surely come to an end soon.
 
I'm glad I was working for Unilever, life was far more settled at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry - URSIOC
 
I've never been to China. However my youngest used to regularly do triangular trips to Dhaka Bangladesh, Hong Kong and 'excursions' into mainland China.

FWIW.. she found HK too hot and the extremely long hours worked to be all a bit much... though she did send some nice pics from the harbour. She said the trips to the mainland were genrally awful. Her view was that most places.. and many people.. were filthy. Sorry. I can only report what I'm told.

She much preferred Bangladesh.. where ...despite her discomfort in the 'strictures'..of a Muslim environment.. she found the people open, friendly , welcoming and generous.

Mrs Mull used to teach English to paying business people from many countries around the World. She worked for an 'International Communications' company, based here. In the latter years she started to get Chinese Students. The overriding problem was that they simply would not eat UK food.. and would often survive on rice cooked in their hotel rooms.

I recall her mentioning to one student that we grew some veggies in our own garden. He was apparenty very surprised and asked 'They allow you to do that?'

We really are talking different Worlds here..

And yes.. Russia and China are both Dictatorships. Russia is essentially a Criminal or Gangster Dictatorship. China's dictators may at least see themselves as maintaining Comnunist ideals.. but mostly.. they are just scared shitless.. trying to hold together an empire which will fall apart. They all do. The question is how much damage wil that cause...and when.

In the shorter term... being stupid as we are.. we are neglecting many impoverished countries in.for e.g. Africa.. which we made poor.. and allowing China to invest there instead.. We deserve everything we get.
 
The Chinese have long memories. Given the way that the UK and America in particular have treated them over the centuries, and the fact that the government of the Peoples Republic of China have bought unprecedented reforms and wealth to the people, the idea that they are going to be pushed about or influenced by anything we do is frankly risible .

I know the earlier comments about bombing China were ironic - at least I hope they were! - but it is sobering to consider what we might be up against if we don't watch out! This film is well worth a watch, if only to see how the influence of those 19th century Prussian military missions to Tsarist Russia lives on to this day across half the world.

 
MikeMA said:
I know the earlier comments about bombing China were ironic - at least I hope they were! - but it is sobering to consider what we might be up against if we don't watch out!
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I wouldn't worry. China does not pose a military threat to the west, especially the USA. Getting lots of people to dress up like soldiers and march about in your own back garden in one thing, being able to project military power halfway across the world is quite another.
 
I think the combination of technical capability and manufacturing might means that China will have a military to rival and possibly surpass the US within the next decade or two. Hopefully there won't be a shooting war.
 
Mr Pig said:
I wouldn't worry. China does not pose a military threat to the west, especially the USA. Getting lots of people to dress up like soldiers and march about in your own back garden in one thing, being able to project military power halfway across the world is quite another.
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I wouldn't bet on it. America has all the hallmarks of a great power in decline, and China is rapidly building the capability to project military power. Whether it will choose to do so in an aggressive way is another matter. Historically, unlike America and the UK it hasn't really shown any great inclination to get involved in foreign military adventures, preferring to play the long game strategically and economically. We shall see.
 
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