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Isaac soloman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Oct 2018 at 10:18am
at 150k views this thread is looked at regardless of you saying that no one reads it. your attitude is unpatriotic; china IS seen as a threat as evidenced by the reports and media that happen/emerge.
why do you continue to attack austalias relationship with america and yet you would have us "marrying" china?

Ban on Chinese mobile giants for 5G 'needed to protect critical infrastructure'

Australia’s spy chief has revealed that critical infrastructure, including the electricity grid and water supplies, could not have been adequately protected if China's Huawei or ZTE had been allowed to build the country's new 5G mobile networks.

In the strongest comments by a government official since the ban was handed down on Chinese companies in August, Mike Burgess, the director-general of the Australian Signals Directorate, said the stakes in 5G "could not be higher".

"Getting security right for our critical infrastructure is paramount," he said.

The warnings coincide with a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute that reveals Australian universities are collaborating with Chinese military scientists at unprecedented levels while failing to mitigate against the risk that such co-operation might harm national security.

The report by the institute claims some People's Liberation Army scientists are hiding behind civilian research "fronts" to obscure their military status.

"To date, there’s been no significant public discussion on why universities should be directly contributing to the technology of a non-allied military," report author Alex Joske warns.Importantly, there’s also little evidence that universities are making any meaningful distinction between collaboration with the Chinese military and the rest of their collaboration with China."

The report will touch a raw nerve with Australia’s university sector, which, mindful of protecting revenue streams from overseas students, has been dismissive or defensive in response to concerns that Beijing is clandestinely interfering in the tertiary sector to assert political control over Chinese students or harvest research for strategic purposes.

Mr Joske’s report seizes on figures suggesting that "five eyes" countries – Western allies who share intelligence – are the biggest hosts of PLA scientists, led by Australia on a per capita basis.

The policy institute's report does not identify any actual breaches involving Australian universities.

More than 2500 Chinese military scientists have been sent abroad as students or visiting scholars in the past decade, the report finds.

The Chinese Communist Party is aggressively expanding its military capacity, including via efforts to align civilian research with military aims.

In his speech in Canberra on Monday night, Mr Burgess said 5G would soon sit at the top of Australia's critical infrastructure list.

He said 5G was not just about faster data, but the new network would eventually be used to operate everything from power and water networks to self-driving cars and remote surgery.

"This is about more than just protecting the confidentiality of our information - it is also about integrity and availability of the data and systems on which we depend," he said.

Mr Burgess did not specifically mention Huawei or ZTE, but said it was no longer sufficient to confine "high-risk vendors" to the edges of a telecommunications network.

"The distinction between core and edge collapses in 5G networks. That means that a potential threat anywhere in the network will be a threat to the whole network," he said.

Mr Burgess also warned Australian companies contemplating vigilante tactics against hackers by launching their own cyber counter-attacks that they would be breaking the law.

Fairfax Media understands that some major Australian firms have contemplated taking dramatic steps against potential cyber threats by directing counter-hacking against them.

Mr Burgess, who took over the agency in January after a four-year stint as Telstra’s chief information officer, said he found such talk concerning, as it would be illegal.

"While it is pleasing to see businesses talking about cybersecurity … more worryingly I’ve heard of boardrooms in Australia contemplating the prospect of hacking back to defend themselves against potential attacks," Mr Burgess said.

"That should not be part of any organisation’s cybersecurity strategy. That would be an illegal act here in Australia."

Mr Burgess also revealed his traditionally secretive organisation’s eavesdropping skills and intelligence analysis have been used to halt advanced terrorism plans, disrupt organised crime gangs overseas and even to help secure the release of Australians taken hostage abroad.

David Wroe

David Wroe is the defence and national security correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based at Parliament House

Nick McKenzie

Nick McKenzie is a leading investigative journalist. He's won Australia's top journalism award, the Walkley, seven times and covers politics, business, foreign affairs and defence, human rights issues, the criminal justice system and social affairs

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Softy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Oct 2018 at 10:30am
Didn’t you listen to SloMo this morning Isaac.
Australia’s foreign policies will be decided by Australia only.
I guess that includes China, Indonesia, Timor, Israel and of course the USA.
No discrimination from SloMo.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Oct 2018 at 11:05am
With Indonesia ScuMo has to wait til Malcolm returns from his ''save the Australian/Indonesia alliance after Morrison torpedoed it'' rescue mission to Indonesia to find out what he has to do to keep our powerful neighbours happy.

Why did they knife Malcolm again?Confused
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Nov 2018 at 7:35am
Knock knock. Helllooo, is anyone home?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Whale Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Nov 2018 at 8:58am
I have it on good authority he has taken up a post teaching English in China

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Nov 2018 at 9:06am
He could teach them to cut and paste reams of spam, if they needed it. Not sure what else he could offer them.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Gay3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Nov 2018 at 9:13am
ENVIRONMENT
30/10/2018 10:33 PM AEDT

China Just Legalized Rhino Horn And Tiger Bone For Medical Use, Reversing 25-Year Ban

The Chinese government has “signed a death warrant for imperiled rhinos and tigers in the wild," environmentalists warned.

In a move that’s enraged and baffled conservationists, the Chinese government announced Monday that it was legalizing the use of rhinoceros horns and tiger bones for traditional medicine and medical research. Trade of the two substances has been banned in China for 25 years.

China’s cabinet clarified that only certified hospitals and doctors would be allowed to use the animal parts ― and said the substances would have to come from rhinos and tigers raised on farms, excluding zoo animals.

Environmentalists, however, have denounced the decision as a huge blow to rhino and tiger conservation efforts and a major win for traffickers of illegal animal parts. Leigh Henry of the World Wildlife Fund said it will be “incredibly difficult” to tell rhino and tiger parts obtained legally from farms apart from those acquired from wild animals. 

“It’s a devastating decision,” Henry, the WWF’s director of wildlife policy, told The New York Times. “I can’t overstate the potential impact.”

In traditional Chinese medicine, rhino horns and tiger bones are considered potent healing ingredients that can treat a host of ailments including cancer. There is no scientific research, however, to support these claims. And in recent years, leaders in the field have discouraged the use of both substances, the Times noted.

China has not explained why it decided to reverse its 1993 ban on the animal parts. Peter Knights, chief executive of environmental nonprofit WildAid, said the decision came “completely out of the blue and with no rationale.” 

Environmental groups told National Geographic that the growing number of tiger farms in the country ― and apparent efforts to farm rhinos too ― may have been a factor in China’s decision. Others have suggested that the move may be linked to efforts by the government to boost the growth of the multibillion-dollar traditional Chinese medicine industry.

China has taken steps in recent years to overhaul its environmental image, including its ban on ivory sales announced in 2016 and its hefty investments in renewable energy. But environmentalists said this week that the country’s decision to overturn the ban on tiger and rhino parts had undermined its reputation in this area.

The Environmental Investigation Agency, a British nonprofit, called the ban’s rollback a “brazen and regressive move which drastically undermines international efforts for tiger and rhino conservation.”

“At a single stroke, China has shattered its reputation as a growing leader in conservation following its domestic ban on the sale of ivory at the start of the year,” the EIA said, according to the AP.

About 3,900 tigers and 30,000 rhinos across five species remain in the wild. Poaching is the primary threat facing the endangered tiger and the world’s five living rhino species, four of which are considered vulnerable or critically endangered.

The Chinese government has “signed a death warrant for imperiled rhinos and tigers in the wild who already face myriad threats to their survival,” Humane Society International warned in a statement.

Wisdom has been chasing me but I've always outrun it!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Whale Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Nov 2018 at 9:28am
What a disgusting lot they are, ridiculous beliefs in ancient remedies.

They are heartless savages 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Nov 2018 at 10:11am
And just how genuine are you whale?

you and pt turn it all into a joke.

anyway, you can read enough, or hear enough now....

ps where would this place be without copyWink and paste?

quite deadLOL
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Whale Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Nov 2018 at 10:21am
Originally posted by Isaac soloman Isaac soloman wrote:

And just how genuine are you whale?

you and pt turn it all into a joke.

anyway, you can read enough, or hear enough now....

ps where would this place be without copyWink and paste?

quite deadLOL

tell yourself that Thumbs Up, other threads thrive without cut and paste.

You are not very perceptive are you, on animal issues I am 100% genuine
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acacia alba Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Nov 2018 at 11:17am
Originally posted by Whale Whale wrote:

What a disgusting lot they are, ridiculous beliefs in ancient remedies.

They are heartless savages 


They try and promote themselves to the world as a modern country that should be accepted by the wider community, then they come out with legalising some ancient tradition dug out from the mists of time. Sick And we gave them  free entry thru the port of Darwin !!Cry
animals before people.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Nov 2018 at 7:54pm
Where would tbv be?

China can never be a democracy.

China erases thousands of WeChat and Weibo accounts for posting 'politically harmful' content

China's top cyber authority has scrubbed 9,800 social media accounts of independent news providers deemed to have posted sensational, vulgar or politically harmful content on the internet.

Key points:

  • There's growth in unregistered "self-media" accounts which publish independent news
  • The accounts publish a range of original content from hard-hitting investigative journalism to celebrity gossip
  • China's cyber watchdog accuses the accounts of creating "chaos"

China's strict online censorship rules have tightened in recent years, with new legislation to restrict media outlets, surveillance measures for media sites and rolling campaigns to remove content deemed unacceptable.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement that the campaign, launched on October 20, had erased the accounts for violations that included "spreading politically harmful information, maliciously falsifying (Chinese Communist) party history, slandering heroes and defaming the nation's image".

CAC also summoned social media giants, including Tencent's Wechat and Sina-owned Weibo, warning them against failing to prevent "uncivilized growth" and "all kinds of chaos" among independent media on their platforms.

"The chaos among self-media accounts has seriously trampled on the dignity of the law and damaged the interests of the masses," CAC said.

The term "self-media" is mostly used on Chinese social media to describe independent news accounts that produce original content but are not officially registered with the authorities.Such accounts have proliferated in recent years and range from hard-hitting investigative journalism to celebrity gossip or lewd content.

Many are hugely popular due to offering more novel and sensational news than official sources.

Online commentators noted that some of the accounts closed had been sharing false or pornographic content — both of which are illegal in China — but also lamented that some of the accounts targeted in this latest sweep appeared to have merely been too critical.

One Weibo user questioned why an art and entertainment blog called "youshuguang" was blocked."The one I really don't get is youshuguang, who made no sign of violations and wrote emotive content in a well-behaved manner. Why were they still blocked?" the Weibo user wrote.

"You get blocked if you write the truth, get blocked if you write lies, so what are we now supposed to say?"

NGOCN, an group that produced popular articles about social issues in China, also had two accounts deleted but pledged in a statement to continue producing content.

"This is an era of accounts being obliterated," the group said.

"It went from a single article being blocked, to the censorship of some prohibited speech … then today all of a sudden, we have no account."

A graphic outlining the ins and outs of Chinese social messaging application WeChat.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Nov 2018 at 10:34am

China says no country should try to obstruct its Pacific 'friendship'

Beijing: As Chinese president Xi Jinping prepares to meet in Port Moresby with eight Pacific island leaders, Beijing has warned no country should try to obstruct its "friendship and cooperation" with Pacific nations that have already received US$3 billion in Chinese investment.A battle of diplomacy dollars is rapidly escalating in the Pacific, with Australia, Japan, the US and China all expected to pledge to lift infrastructure and aid funding to the impoverished region in the next week as world leaders gather in Papua New Guinea for the APEC summit.

Xi will first meet with the eight Pacific island leaders who recognise Beijing diplomatically, and not Taiwan, before the weekend APEC meeting. It is the first visit by a Chinese head of state to Papua New Guinea, which was once an Australian colony.

www.watoday.com.au/world/asia/china-no-country-should-try-to-obstruct-its-pacific-friendship-20181114-p50fup.html

Zietgeist
14 MINUTES AGO
And this exposes the short sighted and insularity of Tony Abbott's government for any one who still can't see it. Cutting dollars for aid and broadcasting services was not a smart move to put it lightly. And mark my words we'll be desperately trying to stop gap the gaping climate change policy hole in decades to come ...but to no avail.

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Non Nocere
22 MINUTES AGO
I'm sitting here in my native land and fearful of a foreign invasion.
Troubling ...

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gman
24 MINUTES AGO
How many renminbi for a pound of flesh ?

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Non Nocere
23 MINUTES AGO
I think its a fish pie! - too many Chinese and not enough seafood.
Nothing to do with cheese.

China could go West - its pretty empty - as it has before. There, it meets Islam.
And they won't want to share pie.

< ="talk-plugin-flags- Flag_____3pf3T __butt___1atdk" style="font-family: inherit; user-: none; border-width: initial; border-style: none; border-color: initial; touch-: manipulation; padding: 0px; overflow: ; cursor: pointer; -webkit--align: start; vertical-align: middle; -: initial; -: initial; -size: initial; -repeat: initial; -attachment: initial; -origin: initial; -clip: initial; font-size: inherit; margin: 5px 0px 5px 10px; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba0, 0, 0, 0 !imant;">Gilavon.
30 MINUTES AGO
China will not be able to sustain it's largesse. It will have no way of "foreclosing" upon those it has "gifted" or granted low-interest loans. Australia's long term strategy of being the dominant aid provider is prudent and sensible
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Nov 2018 at 12:06pm
is tbv out of step with australian sentiment towards china?

tbv treats china like...china...precious, handle with care, brittle


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Nov 2018 at 12:08pm
When should we attack them Isaac?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Nov 2018 at 12:09pm
I will follow you.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Nov 2018 at 1:59pm
Glad you are on my side ptLOLHug
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dr E Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Nov 2018 at 2:16pm
They have been smart enough to go straight to the Socialist Republic of Victoria to do deals, bypassing the majority of the Australian Citizens who would strongly defend our Sovereignty ahead of the promise of Globalism. Too clever for us.
In reference to every post in the Trump thread ... "There may have been a tiny bit of license taken there" ... Ok, Thanks for the "heads up" PT!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Nov 2018 at 6:03pm

Family distraught after apprentice dies in worksite employer Ai Group knew was unsafe

By Pat McGrathJeremy Story Carter and Sarah Curnow, ABC Investigations

Updated about an hour ago

"My son died for no reason, he didn't deserve to die like that."

Eyes bloodshot, Xiancong Wu's face is drained of colour. His wife, Guojuan, is slumped sobbing by his side, overcome by grief.

Just a few weeks have passed since their 20-year-old son, Dillon Wu, died while working at a Melbourne factory. He was found unconscious and alone at the bottom of a large metal tanker, overcome by fumes.

Dillon had just started his dream job — a prestigious metal engineering apprenticeship with the training arm of The Australian Industry Group, one of the country's most powerful business groups.

"At the start of this job he was like, 'I'm going to do at least two years until I have enough money to buy my own house and everything, so my life can go a better way,'" said Dillon's sister, Xinlei Wu.

"Now he's not going to do any of those."

Now, Ai Group has been accused of sending him to work in a factory it knew was riddled with deadly safety hazards.

The lobby group, which represents some of Australia's biggest companies, was Dillon's direct employer. But his practical training began at Marshall Lethlean — a company in Melbourne's outer east that builds tanker trailers for transporting petrol, milk, chemicals and gas. 

Do you know more about this story? Email investigations@abc.net.au.

ABC Investigations has obtained a copy of a safety audit Ai Group carried out at Marshall Lethlean's factory as part of a WorkSafe Victoria initiative in August, a month before Dillon was deployed.

The report catalogued a litany of serious hazards, including the factory's lack of procedures for staff working in confined spaces, which it categorised under "High/Significant Risk, Almost Certain likelihood, Serious consequence".

Despite Ai Group identifying 11 high-priority safety hazards in a report delivered to Marshall Lethlean on August 24, its training arm sent Dillon Wu to begin his apprenticeship at the factory a month later.

But Ai Group's chief executive, Innes Willox, defended his organisation and said the safety hazards outlined in the report would be common in most workplaces.

"These were issues that were identified more broadly and were not found or seen to be insurmountable, but needed work done and that would be done over time," Mr Willox said.

"All our indications were and continue to be that it was a safe place of work, but what occurred was a terrible tragedy, the details of which we don't know."

On October 4, Dillon died while working in a confined space.

By the time his family were allowed to see him later that day, his body was cold.

"He was all pale. His ears were purple. He went through lots of suffocation," said Xinlei Wu.

"He definitely suffered."

The Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union, which represents workers at the factory, said Marshall Lethlean made no changes to its safety procedures after the Ai Group audit.

"It's quite disturbing to know that not only the host employer knew about it, but that the direct employer knew about it," said Tony Mavromatis, the Victorian secretary of AMWU.

"We have these rules and regulations for a reason and it's just shameful what has happened here."

WorkSafe Victoria is yet to complete its investigation, so the exact circumstances of his death have not been officially confirmed.

Dillon's co-workers said he was working inside the tank alone, in breach of safety regulations, when he suffocated on argon gas accidentally released from a welding device.

"He's not supposed to be working alone inside the tank like that," Xinlei Wu said.

"He should have someone looking after him all the time."

Family wants answers, not flowers

Ai Group's August safety audit also raised concerns about a lack of equipment maintenance, unsafe handling of dangerous chemicals, and observed that part of the factory's machinery was not secured to the ground.

It recommended the company carry out a complete overhaul of its safety procedures "in order to meet legislative requirements and reduce the risk of injury to workers".

In spite of the concerns outlined within their own audit, Ai Group's chief executive Innes Willox said the organisation believed Marshall Lethlean was nonetheless a safe workplace to send apprentices.

"We've had apprentices with Marshall Lethlean now for 17 years," Mr Willox said.

He said Ai Group's training program has a longstanding safety record.

"This is the first death of an apprentice that we've had," he said.

"I'd like to be more expansive but there's an inquiry underway."

Ai Group has not spoken to Dillon's family in the month since his death.

The organisation — whose website reads: "We're here when you need us" — sent flowers through a florist service instead.

"The minimum human morality for the agency is to come over to give us a reasonable explanation," Dillon's father said.

"They should give us an explanation — what's the reason of it?"

Mr Willox said Ai Group had tried to contact the family through Marshall Lethlean.

"That is the way that we were advised to do this," he said.

"We stand ready, our organisation stands ready, to talk with his family at any time."

Ai Group has since contacted the ABC stating its staff had in fact met with members of the Wu family on the day of Dillon's death.

"There was contact on the day of the incident and at the funeral — both highly stressed situations so understandable if they [the family] are unsure about this contact," an Ai Group spokesperson told the ABC in an email.

In a brief statement to the ABC, Marshall Lethlean said Dillon's death on its worksite had left its directors and employees "shocked and deeply saddened".

"There is an ongoing investigation into this matter by WorkSafe Victoria. The company is fully cooperating with this process and will continue to do so," Marshall Lethlean's general manager John Zhang said.

"It is also conducting its own enquiries into the circumstances surrounding the accident as part of its ongoing safety management process. As such, it is not in a position to comment on the causes of the accident at this stage."

Dillon's recent funeral, held in Melbourne's east, was a site of both anger and profound sorrow.

Distraught family and friends believe his death was entirely preventable, and the tragedy has robbed them of a caring, fun-loving young man.

Speaking in front of aunts and uncles flown in at the considerable expense of Mr and Ms Wu, Dillon's friend Steve Sundaralingam shared a heartfelt tribute to his close mate.

"I never got the chance to say this bro, but I love you," he said.Watch the story tonight on the ABC's 7.30 program.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Whale Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Nov 2018 at 8:31pm
Image result for this thread died
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Nov 2018 at 8:57pm
LOL
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Nov 2018 at 12:32pm
whale, 156707 views, and countingThumbs Up
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Nov 2018 at 12:40pm

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Are China's cheap loans to poor nations a development boost or a debt trap?

China is in the midst of a rapid push to gain economic and political ascendancy across the globe — and it is splashing out billions of dollars in concessional loans to developing countries in the process.

Key points:

  • China offers concessional loans for large-scale infrastructure projects
  • But if countries fail to pay them back, Beijing can start making demands
  • Several of Australia's neighbours in the Pacific have large Chinese loan debts

This money is used to construct much-needed major infrastructure projects, but what happens when these poorer countries cannot pay China back?

Experts warn Beijing is using bad loans as a form of entrapment, allowing the nation to gain influence and power across the world.

Here's how they say it works.

'Debt-trap diplomacy'Poorer nations are lured by China's offers of cheap loans for transformative infrastructure projects.

Then, when these countries are unable to keep up with their repayments, Beijing can demand concessions or other advantages in exchange for debt relief.

This process is known as debt-trap diplomacy.

Sri Lanka's Hambantota Port development project serves as a cautionary tale to anyone who thinks China's loans come without conditions.Protests erupted last year when Sri Lanka was forced to hand control of the port over to China — on a 99-year lease — in order to wipe off about $US1 billion ($1.4 billion) worth of its debt to Beijing.

China now has control of a key port on the doorstep of regional rival India, and a strategic foothold along a key commercial and military waterway.

Australia's debt-saddled neighboursA little closer to home, Australia has been a bit sluggish to respond to China's spreading influence in the Pacific.

Chinese loans and aid have gone from almost zero to $1.8 billion in the space of a decade, and some of our neighbours are already heavily-laden with debt to Beijing.

However, China has also pledged to spend $US5.8 billion ($8 billion) in total across the Pacific region.

For instance, Beijing has promised Papua New Guinea an incredible $US3.5 billion ($4.8 billion) for a new road network, which would stem from its capital Port Moresby.

Fiji owes China half a billion dollars, and Tonga now owes more than $160 million, or one-third of its GDP.onga has been forced to admit it may fail to repay its debts, stoking fears other small Pacific nations could fall into debt distress and become vulnerable to diplomatic pressure from Beijing.

In fact Tonga's Prime Minister this year even went as far as calling on the Pacific Islands to band together against China — before backtracking on that call days later, for reasons that remain unclear.

Earlier this year, reports that China was moving to create a military base in Vanuatu sparked a panic in Australia, and served as a catalyst for a renewed pivot to reclaim regional influence.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has now announced the creation of a new infrastructure bank for projects across the region, seen largely as a pushback against Chinese influence.

China's President Xi Jinping is currently in Port Moresby for this year's APEC summit, where he will hold a special meeting with Pacific Island leaders.

Mr Xi is expected to put even more concessional loans on the table at that side meeting — so watch this space.

China's Belt and Road planAt the heart of the issue of Chinese investment is Mr Xi's flagship economic policy, the One Belt One Road initiative.

It is a trillion-dollar project aimed at connecting countries across continents for trade, with China at its centre.Beijing has characterised the project as a win-win for both its global trade ambitions and infrastructure-starved developing nations.

But in reality, many vulnerable countries are finding themselves overwhelmed by Chinese debt.

In 2011, Tajikistan reportedly handed over land on its disputed border with China to repay some of its debts.

China loaned Montenegro more than a billion dollars to build a key highway linking its Port of Bar to landlocked Serbia, with construction led by a Chinese company.

However, due to currency issues and problems with the blueprint, costs blew out and the project remains only partially completed.

Now debt levels in the fledgling European state are at 80 per cent of GDP, and Montenegro faces the prospect of either abandoning the project or negotiating for more money from China — pushing it deeper into Beijing's sphere of influence.

In Africa, China is financing major projects across the continent, and Beijing's level of investment is gathering pace.

In September, Mr Xi promised Africa $82 billion for development over three years — in 2015, it gave countries on the continent the same amount.

China's investment in Zambia for example is impossible to miss — schools, surgeries and construction projects bear Chinese symbols, and a vast new network of roads is being built with Chinese finance.

But the debt is mounting there, with Chinese loans accounting for up to a third of the country's total $13 billion national debt.

Debt deals have countries spookedFor now many countries are enjoying the new highways, airports and promises of economic development, but it may only be a matter of time until they, too, are overwhelmed by debt.

And the increasing reliance on Chinese investment around the world is raising concerns about how geopolitical power dynamics are shifting in the 21st century.

Some countries, spooked by Sri Lanka's port handover last year, are starting to wind back their reliance on Chinese finance — Nepal and Pakistan for instance cancelled major projects in 2017.

But it's not just developing countries that find themselves indebted to China.

In fact, Beijing is the number one holder of US debt, owning $US1.1 trillion ($1.52 trillion) in government bonds.Amid the debates about China's growing influence and fears Beijing wants to expand its strategic military presence across the globe, it's easy to forget they have only one overseas military base — in the small east African nation of Djibouti.

The United States meanwhile has an estimated 800 bases across 70 countries.

So while Chinese money may be putting some countries at risk, and Beijing could be wielding its loans as a strategic tool, it's not the only country projecting its power around the world.

Just how deep Mr Xi's ambitions run remains unclear, but there's no doubt he plans on China leading the way in what has been dubbed the Asian Century — and not following the pack.

www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-16/are-china-cheap-loans-to-poor-nations-a-debt-trap/10493286g the way in what has been dubbed the Asian Century — and not following the pack.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Nov 2018 at 12:46pm
How many times have you posted that story or an update or duplicate of it Isaac?

I dont think you are even trying now you have become a Doc devotee.

Where is the yesterday story of the Muslim labour camps in China?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Nov 2018 at 12:49pm
asked myself the same, but if the ABC need to update, so will i!

yesterday story pt?

said earlier types like you pt really dont have a heart, after allCry
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Nov 2018 at 12:59pm

Lawmakers Push Trump to Act Against China on Uighur Detention


http://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/world/asia/congress-uighurs-china-detention.html
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Nov 2018 at 1:01pm
I know I have asked you almost every time you have posted that article before, but you still haven't answered it.

Isn't anyone who has a mortgage, a car or credit card in a potential debt trap?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Isaac soloman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Nov 2018 at 2:36pm
did these countries actually approach china first, or did china come calling first?

and why has china become altruistic towards these countries, whilst treating their own countrymen so terribly?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Passing Through Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Nov 2018 at 3:58pm
I have explained it too you several times.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Whale Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Nov 2018 at 4:09pm
Originally posted by Isaac soloman Isaac soloman wrote:

did these countries actually approach china first, or did china come calling first?

and why has china become altruistic towards these countries, whilst treating their own countrymen so terribly?

Image result for flogging a dead horse
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