UKC

Human rights, bullying smaller nations, plundering the natural resources, pulluting the far east, cares nothing for endangered species.

This nation's attitude to everything worries me. Thats my opinion and i stand by it.

Thank goodness ive lived over half my life; my descendents have no such luxury.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

One horrible news report, it made me feel sad to think what's happening to this beautiful earth we live on. I am of an age where I'm thinking about having children and these kind of things make me question whether I want to bring someone into this world. Very sad and outrageous that people are that desperate for money that they can do such things!

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

Are you talking about the British Empire 150 years ago?

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

china have been responsible for bringing a huge number of people out of poverty...far more than Barak and Bono have managed to "save"

In reply to Rory Shaw:

At what, long term, costs?

In reply to Graeme Alderson:

Whilst my post is undoubtedly provocative your response is a little too simplistic. Surely measuring a nation in our enlightened times, with modern technology, modern thinking and greater advancements in every possible area to a nation 150 years ago with none of these is somewhat of a red herring.

Lets not ignore what great things the British empire did. Apart from cheap manufacturing, which is a mxed blessing, I see china doing very little. Everything it does is self serving, inward looking and about control. The report on the BBC tonight with fishermen destroying a reef to remove giant clams sums it up for me.

If it wants to be seen as a positive modern player, why on earth would it harrass foreign jounalists on anything from human rights, the highly questionable island building scheme and its abysmal behavior towards Tibet. Its whole attitude disgusts me.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

https://www.ted.com/talks/eric_x_li_a_tale_of_two_political_systems?languag...

I found this talk really interesting. While China is far from perfect in it's approach, nor are we in the West.

I lived there with my family for a while and the pollution was hideous, but the way of thinking of most Chinese people Is very hard for us to understand in the West. They've come a long way in a very short time, in many areas.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:




Talk about simpistic. Brilliant.

In reply to John Postlethwaite:

My thread wasn't to defend TBE but criticise China but go on, refute my simplistic claim.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

Did you write that post on a Chinese made computer?

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:


Sounds like Brits from the Victorian era.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:


hahaha!

In reply to ByEek:

Quite, and I don't excuse that but it was a different era. Women didn't have the vote, electricity hadn't been 'invented' and slavery was in living memory. It's a red herring.

We are in 2016, almost, not 1850.

In reply to Graeme Alderson:


Sounds more like the American Empire today.

Ban China?
Worked for Donald Trump! Sign the petition and be happy!

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

I guess it's china's way of growing as a nation, they are grasping at everything to support their massive population, it's almost like a panic growth, just get it working don't worry about the environment or anyone else !!

What happens if China fails in its economy ? - they make most of everything we own these days

I did read about China failing to control corruption and that their economy is unstable, also innovation is in its infancy, their lack of control of environmental issues are hampering their growth etc ... Perhaps these are hurdles they need to overcome and in time the rest will pull together

Do you think China's youth has helped change the country over the past 30 years, they have become more westernized ?

But if their economy does fail, will we go with it ?

L

In reply to lone:


In my experience they have become westernized in their appetite for consumer goods but not so much politically. Only the ones who are able to leave the country for a while have a more open and western political attitude. One the whole, the ones who are unable or unwilling to leave China think as the Chinese government want them to think, lack of an uncensored internet hampers open mindedness.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

As a couple of other posters have said, If you take the last hundred or so years of the british empire I don't think we're any different.
In fact in my opinion we were and are much worse in many aspects.

We invaded many countries, displaced much of the population, overruled and destroyed tradional values, customs and so on.

Didn't we do slavery and transportation as well?

In reply to Dave Perry:

As a couple of other posters have said, If you take the last hundred or so years of the british empire I don't think we're any different.
In fact in my opinion we were and are much worse in many aspects.
We invaded many countries, displaced much of the population, overruled and destroyed tradional values, customs and so on.
Didn't we do slavery and transportation as well?

By that logic, they should be allowed to exterminate millions of people in concentration camps. After all, that's what the Nazi's did...

In reply to jon_gill1:

Was that the one on the radio last night about the Chinese poachers smashing up a coral reef to get at the giant clams? God that was grim - profoundly depressing.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

I didn't know 1.3bn people could have "an attitude" to anything.

In reply to FactorXXX:

I think Ghengis Khan took that role when he did a little empire building off his own back.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:


Electricity wasn't invented, it was discovered. This happened more than 2000 years ago and batteries had been invented in Roman and Persian times. Got any more facts for your discussion?

In reply to Dave Perry:

I think Ghengis Khan took that role when he did a little empire building off his own back.

That may be so, but has he got a law named after him?

In reply to Orgsm:

I think you know what I meant, Mr S Alec. I'm talking about the widespread practical application of your discovered energy, hence the ''s. Got any more questions to make you look like a pillock?

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

You're doing fine looking like a pollock all by yourself

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:


I worry that a sense of grievance based on what's happened to them in the past and a strong sense of nationalism could mean they're a less than peaceful world power, as they become stronger as a country.

Young people in China today can talk about loving their country and never forgetting about the Opium Wars.

In reply to deepsoup:

Yes I watched it on tv though and it was horrific scenes of huge reefs turned to underwater deserts!such a shame!

In reply to Graeme Alderson:


no the USA today.

In reply to FactorXXX:


It seems that way. Classic UKC whataboutery "Oh, but we were worse 100/200/1000 years ago (delete as applicable). How can we criticise?" Fair enough, lets just feed every endanged species in Africa into a big mincer to provide dubious aphrodisiacs to the Chinese market. After all, Major Bufton-Tufton shooting a tiger in 1823 has set an immutable precedent for the next thousand years of human morality.

In reply to Orgsm:


There's something fishy about your line of argument.

(i thought i'd post that just for the halibut...)

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:


We've raised our "standards", priced our manufacturers out of the market and delegated manufacturing to another nation so that we can have cheap luxuries whilst turning a blind eye to the human and environmental costs.

Blaming the Chinese for feeding our selfish consumer demands is exceedingly simplistic.

In reply to TheDrunkenBakers:

They are planting a billion or so trees, so it's not all bad... Although perhaps the reasons for doing it aren't the best.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-North_Shelter_Forest_Program