Rising China the issue
I WATCHED the Pacific forum recently.
Scomo was supposed to get a bucketload of condemnation from the Pacific Island nations, even copping a serve from the New Zealand Prime Minister. Yet, I wonder how many of us saw through the emotive stance some media in the south took against our country?
When China is pressuring these nations with loans and gifts that can outmatch Australian contributions, we need to look past the jargon and see it for what it is.
China was hardly mentioned by the island nations, yet Australia gives millions of dollars to these people every year. Yet this was forgotten, with the island leaders demanding we open no more coal mines. They do not want to contend with the so-called rising of the oceans.
The blatant threat of this misrepresentation of the truth needs to be at the very least expounded, enabling us mere mortals to fully understand why our southern media used this forum to lambaste of our own country. Even Labor’s Penny Wong said that we need coal. (After the last election, I guess Labor has had to look at itself; however, if they ever get the finger on the dragline, I wonder what they will do?) China has increased coal consumption for 13 years in a row. China alone has accounted for 69 per cent of the increase in coal production over the last 10 years while accounting for 47 per cent of the global coal consumption.
China is New Zealand’s biggest trading partner, yet the overexposed PM of NZ never mentioned China.
The brave Hong Kong protesters face a world where the leaders of other countries are too frightened to move on communist China, all because of money, profit, export dollars and loans. Is this what people are worth?
Surely the rest of the world will act on China when the army moves into Hong Kong. Trading off the backs of nearly every country on earth, China has control over so much of the Pacific nations that we will see a changing of the guard.
No longer will these island nations look to Australia; they are being feted and wooed by money from China.
The Pacific Ocean cannot rise unless all of the oceans do; it is ludicrous to even consider that the water will only rise in the Pacific and not in the oceans on the planet.
The coastlines of all countries are changing, that is a fact. Yet we see these island leaders grandstanding on the world stage, while sitting in the wings watching and smiling is China, knowing that no country on Earth can stand against her, except maybe America.
I noticed that the protesters in Hong Kong carried American flags begging Donald Trump to help them, while Australia sells ports and airfields to China, ignoring the human rights abuses and massive military build-up.
What will be next, the banning of American bases in Australia, a crackdown on free speech, or what we have left of it?
Our children are expecting us to be smart, not follow the money or baby formula like protesters to the slaughter.
DEBRA GIBSON, Pinnacles.