If you call it the Middle Kingdom, it sounds more poetic and less oppressive
I agree that Stephen Harper’s policy towards China has been poor. In fact, Canada’s relations with China have been poor since October 13, 1970. That was the date we broke diplomatic relations with Free China and threw in our lot in with Red China, then led by Mao “What Are Human Rights?” Zedong. I think it would be great if Mr. Harper were to visit the Free Area of the Republic of China and meet with the esteemed Chinese president, Ma Ying-jeou instead, of that loud-mouthed, unelected usurper Hu Jintao.
Premier Wen Jiabao criticized Mr. Harper for not coming sooner. Of course Mr. Wen hasn’t been to Canada since 2003, before Harper was even PM. You see, Canada usually changes it’s leadership more frequently because we have this cRaZy thing called democracy goin’ on. But we all know democracy is bad news for the Chinese people. I mean just look at how the poor people of Hong Kong are starving to death while the mainlanders are livin’ off the fatta the lan’.
But we really want to be BFF with Red China apparently. It’s no coincidence that our former Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson just published a book on Norman Bethune this past spring. Bethune, who has been lionized for his field work in the Spanish Civil and Second Sino-Japanese Wars, infamously refused to treat many soldiers who didn’t share his communist beliefs. We really need to stop worshipping this guy just to suck up to Red China. But they’ve has gotten to that stage where, like the U.S., they can do whatever they want and there’s nothing we can do about it. Goliath dispatches David with a flick of the wrist.
But the People’s Republic of China does boast one major “achievement.” They’re behind Iran but ahead of Egypt in their ability to take thousands of years of glorious civilization and turn it into TOTAL FUCKING SHIT.
I think the character of Mao in John Adams’s opera Nixon in China summed it up best:
“We no longer need Confucius. Let him rot” (Act I, scene 2)
“History is a dirty sow: If we by chance escape her maw / She overlies us” (Act I, scene 2)