Greens silently protest arrival of Wen Jiabao
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived at Parliament this morning for talks with the Prime Minister and a fancy luncheon. Three Green MPs - Keith, Sue K, and Jeanette - took the opportunity to stand on the forecourt with a Tibetan flag as he arrived. They were joined by contingents of both Chinese Government supporters and Falun Dafa protesters on the lawn of Parliament.
Falun Dafa are mostly concerned by the presence of Mr Wen’s senior commerce minister, Bo Xilai, who they accuse of overseeing a death camp for Falung Gong practitioners, while the Greens remain concerned about ongoing human rights abuses in Tibet.
The Premier was quickly whisked inside, surrounded by swarming hordes of both NZ and Chinese security guards, but would not have been able to miss the visible presence of the Greens and the other protesters.
To their credit, Police and security personnel made no efforts to obstruct or remove the MPs from their spot on the forecourt, and don’t appear to be attempting to hide protest activity from the Premier during his visit - a marked contrast from previous visits of Chinese officials.
Later today, during question time, Keith will ask the Prime Minister what, if any, human rights issues she has raised with the Premier during his visit.
April 6th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
Well done Jeanette, Sue and Keith!
April 6th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
How come the police get given credit for not obstructing protest? Especially when the instructions issued under Section 30 of the Police Act require them not to do so.
Wish my employer congratulated me when I don’t do things I’m not supposed to be doing in the first place.
April 6th, 2006 at 6:51 pm
Human rights abuses?! The Greens are the last who take any sort of moral high ground over human rights. If you had your way, property rights would be near to non-existent.
Interesting how Greens see it as a right for the consumer to know where there food is made, but property rights are a completely different story.
But that’s besides the point - free trade will benefit New Zealanders far more than there will be any negative effects considering that Chinese imports will only slightly increase as we don’t have many restrictions on imports anymore; think of the huge market a free trade deal will create for agriculture, horticulture and forestry. Currently exporters to China need to climb over the Great Wall for our produce to be sold there; although our dollar will still be higher, good bye tariffs, government bureaucracy and any hindrances on advertising in Chinese markets.
April 6th, 2006 at 7:52 pm
Wow, you really ARE disgruntled! In a quirky, impotent kind of way
April 6th, 2006 at 10:53 pm
As much as I am in agreement with free trade with China, I agree with the Green Party raising human rights issues.
Just because NZers trade with China and trade with China is good for both countries does not mean that the government should turn its back on China’s use of execution and torture, and its breach of fundamental freedoms.
I know Sue Kedgley and Keith Locke have chequered histories on these issues, and Sue is the Green’s greatest supporter of compulsion - but putting those to one side, anyone who believes in fundamental freedoms must condemn China and remind it that it is far beneath basic standards of human rights.
April 6th, 2006 at 11:05 pm
I agree that human rights should be raised, but they shouldn’t hinder free trade like the Greens wish neither should workers’ “rights” (as commies call them); also, it’s a bit rich for the Greens to be the human rights’ watch dog considering they disregard basic rights like self defence, freedom of expression and property if they aren’t in the best interests of the peasants.
April 7th, 2006 at 4:49 am
Disgruntled Redneck - We don’t disregard “self-defence” where do you get that idea? Where do you get the idea that workers do not have rights? You want to go back to slavery perhaps? That IS how it evolves in the factory town. When have we stifled “freedom of expression”? Even your highly overrated “property rights” are respected by us PROVIDED the future of the planet is not put in jeopardy. I think you are hating a caricature of what Greens are, without actually knowing much about the party.
Y’all need to look at actual positions of the party not individual statements by some member of the party.
respectfully
BJ
April 7th, 2006 at 10:53 am
A free trade agreement will be a mixed blessing at best. Good for the primary sector, but what about the manufacturers? Kiwi manufacturers actually pay their workers a decent wage, how are they going to compete with the sort of labor standards and wages that exist in China? It will be one step forward, and somewhere between one and four steps back.
April 7th, 2006 at 8:50 pm
History shows that free trade agreements usually fail to match the rhetoric of their proponents. It is common for trade disparities to worsen. The bigger player can create all kinds of spurious barriers; the Aussie nonsense about fireblight being a good example. When China cleans up its civil rights AND its abuse of intellectual property, I might feel more kindly towards it as a trading partner.
April 11th, 2006 at 12:10 pm
Good on the Greens for continuing to protest.
Interesting that Helen was prepared to raise the topic of human rights with the premier but that Labour has been too gutless to take a position on Guantanemo with our supposed friends…:
http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2006/04/new-zealand-and-guantanamo.htm l#comments
April 12th, 2006 at 9:36 am
I think the answer to how Kiwi manufacturers are going to compete came today with Fontera’s announcement of 300 job cuts. And this is in NZ’s much-touted supposedly super competitive dairy sector.
Actually, China’s dairy sector is close to being as efficent as NZ’s (in terms of the cost of producing milk, at least), and is growing rapidly. Maybe in a couple of decades we’ll take the Chinese Cheddar on our supermarket shelves for granted.
April 12th, 2006 at 9:39 am
Oh, by the way. Let’s not forget the Uighers, whose briefly independent Republic of East Turkestan was conquered and colonised in much the same way, and at about the same time, as Tibet. Repression and destruction of the local culture continues there today, even using the excuse of “a war on terrorism”.
June 1st, 2006 at 7:20 pm
Trade with China might have considerable mutual benefits. As did trade with Germany in 1935. The downside is the impact on local producers. Do we want to become dependent on a country with shoking human rights issues concerning Taiwan, Tibet, Tianamen Square, Womens’ rights, child labour…? Just because they are very polite, work hard, and have lovely pandas?
Corruption among the CCP, which citizens are leaving in droves, is at the highest level. The Minister of Commerce himself, Bo Xilai, has been sued in eight countries (including NZ, Australia, USA, UK) for genocide. He was Governor of Liaoning province from 2001 tio 2004, during which time he supervised the torture and murder of 341 Falun Gong. Also in his province was set up the notorious Sujiatun concentration camp where literally thousands are illegally imprisoned. Their internal organs are removed for sale to international traders, and then they are cremated, often alive. 70 million Falun Gong are missing; the holocaust may have been trivial in comparison. Do we really want blood-money of this kind?
February 11th, 2008 at 9:42 am
The Chinese Year of the Rat, the first of 12 months, represents wealth and good luck. It -and the New Year-commences with the new moon of 7 Feb. 2008 and ends with the full moon of 21 Feb., the Festival of Lanterns. The most important of all events in the Chinese calendar.
However, the most honoured guest, the moon, seems to have somewhat snubbed the event this time. She marked the commencement date by eclipsing the suun on 7 feb. And will mark the more hallowed end date by totally absenting herself - a total lunar eclipse of the full moon.
This sequence of events must be a very rare occasion.
Things don’t end there. The Chinese Authorities, obsessed with lucky numbers, have determined that the Beijing (Summer) Olympics will begin at 8am on 8th August (8th month), 2008. The moon again appears to be unhappy, staging a total solar eclipse just a week before the opening ceremony, on 1 Aug. Plus a partial one on 16 Aug., one of the more active days of the Games, on which 30 medals are to be awarded.