Ordinary Chinese are suffering most
I UNDERSTAND Paul Sheehan’s anger at China’s response to the Covid 19 pandemic but could I ask him and other readers to direct their anger at the Chinese Communist Party and not the Chinese people.
It is ordinary Chinese people who are suffering most from this virus and they need our support.
Again. I understand his sentiment in saying China must pay reparations as: “...Germany paid reparations after the war.”, but contrary to popular belief, Germany didn’t pay war reparations,
Germany demanded France pay war reparations after the Francoprussian war of 1870 and naturally, France demanded Germany pay reparations after WW1.
In 1919 Germany was bankrupt and reparations made its financial position even worse. After the hyperinflation of 1923 America began to financially support Germany through the Dawes Plan and in 1931 America put a moratorium on reparations payments.
Similarly, though there were plans to make Germany pay after WW2, these plans were dropped as Germany became America’s front line ally in the cold war against Russia. By the London Agreement of 1953 all Germany’s outstanding war debts were essentially cancelled. Of course, Britain still had to pay its wartime debts to America and I believe the last WW1 debt payments were only made a few years ago.
Martin Judge, Coventry.
Spring sunshine gives us hope
NO pubs, no restaurants, no shops, no holidays, do I need to go on.
But at least we’ve got this fantastic spring weather which compares to mid summer. Now surely that can lift our spirits.
P Murland, Coventry.