China

Monday March 24, 2008

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Monday March 24, 2008

China reproaches foreign media

China has sharply criticized foreign reporters here over their coverage of the riots in Tibet, accusing them of biased reporting and preventing them from traveling to Tibet or neighboring provinces to report on the unrest.

The government has also increased its propaganda campaign aimed at convincing the Chinese public that the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader, instigated the violence in Tibet on March 14 and that China was a victim of separatist terrorist activity.

The campaign is the clearest sign of China’s concerns that the Tibet unrest, as well as anti-government protests over Darfur, could disrupt the Olympic Games this summer.

In a sign of the tension with the media, three members of the Athens chapter of Reporters Without Borders, a media-rights group based in Paris, disrupted the Olympic flame-lighting ceremony in Greece on Monday. The incident occurred as Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee, was addressing thousands of spectators, dignitaries and Olympics officials.

The government appears to be blocking foreign Web sites inside China and censoring foreign television broadcasts here about the situation in Tibet. Youtube.com was blocked after the riots began and CNN and BBC broadcasts regularly go black after any mention of Tibet. The New York Times Web site also appeared to have been blocked or censored in recent days. (Source: NYTimes) 

 

Tuesday December 4, 2007

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday December 4, 2007

Aus eager to ratify Kyoto protocol

About 180 nations are in Bali seeking a breakthrough for a new global pact to fight climate change by 2009 and they’re facing all the same old problems.

An ovation for Australia at the UN conference on Climate Change after the country’s new government agreed to immediately ratify the Kyoto Protocol ending Australia’s long-held opposition to the global climate agreement.

Now, the United States is isolated as the only developed nation, which has not agreed to the pact.

However, some say even Australia been too late in agreeing and whatever it will do now will be too little.

Under the Kyoto treaty developing nations have no fixed targets, but the US has been asking India and China to cut their emissions down to binding targets.

Something the two countries, along with other emerging economies like Brazil and South Africa say is unfair and unrealistic.

So, as the two week conference progresses in Bali much of what happens behind closed doors will revolve around nuances, with debates over words like ”commitment” and ”mandatory.” (Source: Toronto Sun) 

 

Thursday August 2, 2007

August 2, 2007

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 2, 2007

U.N. Authorizes Peacekeeping Troops for Darfur

The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize a force of about 26,000 U.N. peacekeepers to help end more than four years of violence in the Darfur region of Sudan, which has left hundreds of thousands dead and forced millions from their homes.

The U.N. mission, one of the largest in the organization’s history, would assume authority by Dec. 31 over a force of about 7,000 African Union peacekeepers who have struggled to protect civilians. But U.N. officials said that it could be several more months beyond the deadline before the full force is deployed and that stemming the violence will be impossible without a political settlement between the government in Khartoum and numerous rebel factions.

The Security Council resolution grants the peacekeeping mission authority to use military force to protect its personnel, guarantee the safe travel of aid workers and provide protection for civilians. Hours before the text was adopted, the House voted to pass a bill that would shield investors and state and local governments in the United States from lawsuits if they divest funds invested in companies doing business in Sudan or Iran. (Source: Washington Post)

Marvellous Maps

 

May 1, 2007

I should go easy on Peter MacKay, afterall, we are family. Rather than being slapped for bringing up a few less notable aspects from cousin Peter’s past I’m instead being confronted by a letter writer who saw a lot more than innocent ridicule against Canada’s Foreign Minister.

“Racist, racist, racist. Spectator, you’ve sunk to an all-time low, propagating racial stereotypes. Not funny”,

emails Alyson Luckett of Hamilton, only a couple hours after it was printed. I’m trying to figure out what racial stereotypes I’ve propagated. Can anyone help?

FEEDBACK

Good grief. “potato patch boy” “rice Paddy”? c’mon. see the little chinese woman crouching behind him. see him slurping green tea. oh brrrrrotherrr. besides, it just wasn’t even funny.

– alyson (December 10, 2007)

November 18, 2006

Well good for Stephen Harper for bringing up human rights with the President of China. While the brief meeting sounds like it might’ve taken place as the two were standing next to each other in the line-up at the APEC conference buffet table, it seems the Chinese are none too pleased with the new style of diplomacy from the Canadians. After 13 years of sycophantic Liberal Prime Ministers prioritizing trade with China way above demanding action to improve human rights there’s finally a government in Ottawa which is serious about highlighting China’s brutal record with its own people.

Last year I reflected on the ongoing custom of Liberal Prime Ministers going through the old song and dance of making the same old feeble demands for human rights as trade grows exponentially between the two countries:

It’s kind of refreshing to know, much to the dismay of the travelling Canadian media, that no cheesy photo-ops between Harper and Hu ever materialized. Canada and China are officially at odds with each other over a noble cause: human rights.

Still, many are berating Harper for threating to damage valuable trade links, and having the gall to criticize other countries for poor human rights when (yeah, you’ve heard it before) we Canadians have our own embarassing record of mistreating our aboriginal people.

Well I suppose Stephen Harper will get criticized for whatever he does. Knowing China has imprisoned Husyin Celil, a Chinese-Canadian citizen, on terrorism charges, and won’t acknowledge his Canadian citizenship, Harper would be stupid not to bring up human rights with China.