The English have two great flaws in their character:The belief that God is an Englishman and that all the World loves the English for their fair play and their “niceness”. I know nothing about the first claim,but the second is rubbish as any overseas tourist venue frequented by Australian tourists will attest.
Australians of English stock are of the same opinion just ask Kevin Rudd.
Rudd’s education may have taught him Mandarin,but not how to deal with Chinese bureaucrats,the face of a ruthless tyranny.
I have always been interested in the history of European trade with China and visited China in the 1960′s as part of two British trade delegations just after the Russians left.
The Chinese would not accept that we were private individuals representing private firms. They said that we must represent the State. The face that China shows you through a tour guide or business contact is a false front covering their desire for success in their dealing with you. Foreigners have never been liked in China. Their name for us in the past was Foreign Devils and European attempts to conquer China or at least steal parts of it,probably merited their hatred.
In diplomacy our approach is,or should be,the same as that of China and I believe that it was Gladstone who summed it up. When asked “Why are you so hard on our friendly nations”,replied “Nations do not have friends only interests”. Rudd should remember that.
China believes itself to be a rising Imperial Power and Australian is too small for China to consider us an equal whatever the Australian press may say.
We need a protector now that we have left the British Empire and at the moment America fills that role but Obama,by his slight of Rudd,may not continue to do so in the future.
Howard was no better than Rudd. He was always shown at a disadvantage when meeting the visiting Chinese Premier who by his attitude,considered Australia a client state of China in all but name.
China holds all the cards,she can stop buying Australian ore and cease exporting much needed goods to us. Stern Hu can go to prison and Rudd can do nothing. If North Korea,Burma,Sri Lanka and Iran can rebuff World opinion what chance has Australia of forcing China to toe the line.
At least one thing has been proved beyond doubt,in spite of what our avaricious miners may say anything that China buys abroad is Chinese State property and China will intervene in any dispute with the host country so “Beware”.
Australia and New Zealand and in fact most of South East Asia and the Pacific will be without a mentor as African Obama loses interest in Non African nations. That leaves us as the prey of China,India or Islam. So where does our future lie?
Stern Hu’s predicament draws attention to the position of migrant Chinese. They do not intergrate with their host nations and now China has warned them DO NOT UPSET YOUR MOTHER COUNTRY,CHINA’S ARM IS LONG.
