Should the Chinese government be made to pay?

[Likethebattle]

Amig had been suggested that the Chinese government covered up the seriousness of covid19 to begin with and delayed alerting the WHO. They apparently let thousands of people leave the country knowingly infecting the rest of the world with a deadly virus.

If this is true can they be held accountable and made to pay damages to other countries? We face a recession due to their actions.

@ToffeeYoghurt
Exactly!
Australia eg closed the border to China arrivals from 1st Feb. Australian citizens and those with permanent residency were allowed to enter Australia but subject to 14 days home self isolation.

I totally called it in january

Can we sue you then for not doing something about it? Can Australia sue the US for being the main source of our infections? Can the British sue their government for being shit?

I think you are being simplistic. And simple

China did what authoritarian dictatorships do, deny the problem and incarcerate dissent.

Until governments start realising this and isolating China, they will continue. Their strategy is buying up assets and becoming strategically important to democratic countries for assets such as 5g. Why on earth we didn't follow the 5 eyes countries beggars belief.

We need to reduce trade and gradually remove dependence in them. Hurting them economically is what will have some impact.

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I agree. The only way to mitigate the threat of China, which is enormous, is by limiting its economic power.

BSE killed 178 people.
Bit different in terms of scale.
And we paid the price through restrictions on the export of our beef and cattle.

Yes for sure! Boycott them! This man made virus which has destroyed so many lives would have been there plan all along so they can destroy global economies and then come in buying out billions of dropped share prices and buying millions of properties. I am sure they have a plan like that to take over the world!!

I detected your sarcasm @Pinkpather40, but have you been following China's Belt and Road initiative?

I don’t think they should pay. I do think they should be sanctioned until they end their wildlife trade and other animal cruelty. A ban on trade and migration would do it.

China has just imposed an 80 percent tariff on Australia's barley exports. Retaliation for Australia's request for a rigorous inquiry into the origins of the virus. And its spread from local infection to global pandemic.
www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2020/05/china-halts-billion-dollar-barley-trade-with-australia-imposes-80-percent-tariff.html

It used to be that the left could be relied upon to be sceptical of rising superpowers abusing human rights/engaging in predatory lending in LDCs so as to create future distressed assets/colonising neighbours/silencing international quangos and so forth - but now they need to check which side Trump is on before proceeding.

Some might be interested in this report.

www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/china-endangered-other-countries-by-hiding-evidence-five-eyes-report-says/news-story/63f84760cfd00c41ea1d04ec400db2a5

Well perhaps for a start they should start advising by pollution levels and bringing that down as they are the second biggest contributor but whilst we all sign up and get taxed to death China just rumbles on ignoring the environmental damage they are doing.

Time to take a harder line with their government.

It used to be that the left could be relied upon to be sceptical of rising superpowers abusing human rights/engaging in predatory lending in LDCs so as to create future distressed assets/colonising neighbours/silencing international quangos and so forth - but now they need to check which side Trump is on before proceeding

@MarginalGain

Quite so. It's interesting, isn't it? The enthusiastic defence of an authoritarian state.

Reparations went so well after WWI after all...

PicsInRed

Don't be patronising, there's no need for it.

My point was that people shouldn't say "British" when they largely mean "English" for global historical atrocities.

No
There is no proof they did anything wrong. Just racist conspiracy theories.

China has just imposed an 80 percent tariff on Australia's barley exports. Retaliation for Australia's request for a rigorous inquiry into the origins of the virus.

Bullshit. That tariff is the result of an investigation started in 2017 regarding Australia dumping barley into China’s economy.

Must be really nauseating for the right that a so called communist country is feeding the wests capitalist machine. Dont bite the hand that feeds you.

"Can the West Actually Ditch China?"

Article about the West's reliance on China in manufacturing for everything from medical supplies to toys. Many countries also rely on the large Chinese market for their exports. Technological and financial ties are often difficult to break.

www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/04/us-britain-dependence-china-trade/610615/

technological and financial ties are often difficult to break
Well, that's where the UK is lucky, as you have a bunch of Brexiteers who'll have it done in no time

Yes, BSE turned out not to be so bad. The point is that we didn't know that when we were merrily fucking around causing it, it's only the passage of time which allows us the dubious moral high ground though.

While I understand the anger, I'm not sure if people actually realise just how much we need China. Literally look around your home and ask yourself if we could do without almost ever single electrical item you own? If the NHS could do without the equipment, PPE and medication that comes from China?
I'm all for becoming less dependent on them, but that's going to take a huge amount of time and will mean things will likely become a lot more expensive.

@bilbo well, looking around at what you see it's mostly plastic, yes? we can mostly do without that. For the rest, we - the consumer - have such massive power. if we want some amazon stuff produced in asia, try Taiwan or India. And how about buying from UK and Europe - better for the environment, better for local jobs, better quality. Most millennials are after this soft of buying anyway. And the raw materials are not in China for electronics - they are not in China, they are in Africa and Australia etc and in fact all round the world when you look at the graphic for iPhone sources.

Don't be patronising, there's no need for it.

Facts aren't patronising.

You asked. 🤷‍♀️

Agree though that it would be sensible to bring key manufacturing capability back. It is a security and stability issue. I don’t think we should ever have lost it tbh. But that wasn’t China’s fault, the race to the bottom re manufacturing costs was driven by a number of factors, both at individual and corporate levels. Governments in the West could have stopped it but didn’t.

the raw materials are not in China for electronics - they are not in China, they are in Africa and Australia etc

One of the reasons China has been busy building up its soft power base in Africa and other parts of the developing world is so it can gain preferential access to the raw materials there. The Chinese government thinks extremely long term in its planning - as they can do because they know they will be in power.

Look up the One Belt One Road initiative.