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China and Human Rights

(46 Posts)
whitewave Mon 19-Oct-15 07:47:48

What is it with this government and Human rights?

Is there anythi g a regime does to its population that would stop this government from "sticking together" with it (what a ridiculous phrase)

In pursuit of paying down the debt Osborne thinks he is being clever by using another country's money, thus it wo t show on our balance sheet, but allowing a country that we barely understand, disagree profoundly with its ideology and human rights record is a risk many would not be prepared to take. Osborne is blinkered in that i pursuit of his leadership bid, he has to somehow succeed in redu cing the deficit/debt so this risk is he thinks worth taking. Osborne is happy to ignore human rights , and risk our future nuclear security for personal gain.

whitewave Tue 20-Oct-15 14:04:15

This government is ideologically opposed to intervention, it is stuck in the 80 s and seems unable to grasp the real world and what is happening in other countries, who are ensuring their industries are protected.. Even Scotland understands that.

rosesarered Tue 20-Oct-15 15:02:12

Yes, Iam64, I agree with what you say.

Iam64 Tue 20-Oct-15 17:42:13

Hey whitewave, what a larf, a left suggesting this tory government is "stuck in the 80's" given the criticisms of Jeremy and co.

You are, of course, right. I'm always fascinated that David Cameron seems able to present a much kinder and more reasonable face than Margaret Thatcher ever could, at the same time as slashing and burning public services and benefits to a great degree than she did.

whitewave Tue 20-Oct-15 18:16:53

Gideon is intent on finishing what he sees as the Thatcher legacy, but unfortunately the rest of the world has moved on and the west including USA understands that the laissez faire economics no longer answers the global economy.

durhamjen Tue 20-Oct-15 18:24:31

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

durhamjen Wed 21-Oct-15 19:56:18

How long will it be before China backs out and we end up paying for it anyway? Just like is happening at Redcar.

www.theguardian.com/business/2015/oct/21/cameron-accused-of-misleading-steelworkers-over-80m-aid-fund

We are paying the final pay and redundancy instead of the company that closed the steelworks.

rosesarered Wed 21-Oct-15 20:38:17

We don't have the money, which is why we are happy about Chinese investment.Otherwise,we would have to borrow the ( mind numbing) amounts needed.

Ana Wed 21-Oct-15 20:40:44

And because of the ridiculous commitment to 'renewable energy' that the last Labour government signed us up to.

rosesarered Wed 21-Oct-15 20:43:03

Yes, that was a sop, renewable energy was never going to be anywhere near the amounts we need for the future.

whitewave Wed 21-Oct-15 20:56:41

When you say the last government ana I assume you don t mean the Tories?

We get 25% of our energy now from renewables.
The last Tory government commissioned a wind farm off the Sussex coast, this is now being started and coming over the South Downs to join the national grid. It will contribute absolutely nothing to enviro nmental risk.

The Chinese government is bankrolling Hinkley , how is it that the Tories can be ideologically against nationalisation, and yet be happy for our nuclear in dustry to be nationalised by the Chinese? The French energy supplier has a assurance that it can charge 50% more for its wholesale supplies to the national grid. What a dog's dinner.

rosesarered Wed 21-Oct-15 21:01:15

We need the money, it would be nice if we had enough not to need the investment but we don't.Ana says ' the last Labour government' so I think we can be sure that she did not mean the Conservatives.

Ana Wed 21-Oct-15 21:12:01

Quite. Selective reading...?

Eloethan Wed 21-Oct-15 21:39:05

rosesarered Surely renewable energy will have to go somewhere because one day all the energy sources we are using now will be exhausted? Other countries are investing heavily in renewable sources of energy but, despite David Cameron's initial posturing around "green" issues, this country is lagging behind.

durhamjen Wed 21-Oct-15 22:50:32

Onshore wind is now the cheapest form of energy. They are now producing ways of storing electricity made from renewables.
Why do we need more nuclear?

durhamjen Wed 21-Oct-15 23:40:20

"It also emerged that Sir Andrew Witty, the chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline, will join a board to promote British-Chinese trade – a year after the company was handed a a $500m fine for bribing Chinese doctors."

That's okay, then, he needn't bribe them any more.

durhamjen Wed 21-Oct-15 23:43:12

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/21/nuclear-power-deal-china-uk

The cost has gone up by £2 billion already.

durhamjen Wed 21-Oct-15 23:46:03

www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/21/britain-sucking-up-china-national-humiliation-former-adviser-steve-hilton

Never thought I'd agree with a Tory.

durhamjen Fri 23-Oct-15 18:56:48

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-accused-of-doing-chinas-bidding-after-police-raid-home-of-tiananmen-square-survivor-over-peaceful-a6704911.html

Government getting a bit too close to China's Human Rights regime.
Do we really want this? Whatever happened to the right to free speech?

durhamjen Fri 23-Oct-15 23:02:08

www.theguardian.com/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2015/oct/22/hinkley-point-uk-energy-policy-is-now-hunkering-in-a-nuclear-bunker

At least the government has now decided to be honest about subsidising nuclear power - now that it knows the rest of us can do damn all about it.

durhamjen Wed 28-Oct-15 17:05:01

This is not just about China, but is definitely about human rights. It's about China, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2015/10/28/comment-when-did-the-telegraph-turn-into-a-mouthpiece-for-au

I find it very worrying that a newspaper can be a mouthpiece for a country issuing threats to the government, whatever I think of this government.