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Scotty

@ Scotty @scribe.disroot.org

Posts
482
Comments
336
Joined
7 mo. ago

  • Canada Should Confront China’s Heightened Repression: Prime Minister Carney’s Visit Should Promote Human Rights, Core Values, Rights Group Says

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  • No, that's not a joke.

    But what you are doing is whataboutism. Human rights violations are wrong here and there, and Carney is visiting China. This is what the article is about.

  • Dramatic policy U-turns put Canada far behind in the global EV race

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  • Take Indonesia. $140B of annual bilateral trade.

    Indonesia suffers a one-way economic dependence from China. Indonesia has a structural trade deficit with China. It also mainly exports commodities (such as oils, mineral fuels, nickel) while high-end products are imported from China (such as machinery, electronic equipment), making it largely impossible for Indonesia to develop its own industry.

    As one study states:

    Significant Chinese investments in Indonesia’s critical minerals and renewable energy sectors have created path dependency, as much of the technological know-how Indonesia sought to acquire for its economic transformation is 75% controlled by Chinese companies. Since these projects rely on Chinese raw materials or midstream processing, this keeps Jakarta’s critical minerals industrial ecosystem tied to Beijing’s technological and financial orbit. Recent developments – including South Korea’s LG Energy Solution withdrawal and the likelihood of its replacement by a Chinese company – indicate that competitive pressure on Chinese firms remains limited and may even be narrowing. Still, this would not change the underlying dependence of Indonesia’s downstream industries on Chinese technology, capital, and supply chains. -[Emphasis mine.]

    This economic dependency will, among others, limit Indonesia political sovereignty. For example, Indonesia will unlikely follow the Philippines’ transparency against China regarding Beijing's aggression in the South China Sea.

    One report - among many others - on that reads (here is an archived link):

    ... The Philippines’ transparency initiative is crucial for addressing and countering disinformation and misinformation, as well as exposing China’s unlawful activities in the South China Sea. Even though Indonesia often faces similar threats from China in the North Natuna Sea, it is less likely to implement such a transparency initiative ... Transparency initiatives may not always be a policy choice for other Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia ... Therefore, while a ‘transparency initiative’ could put pressure on China to comply with international law and avoid reckless behaviour in the South China Sea, Indonesia is less likely to implement such a policy ...

    There is much more information about Indonesian-Chinese relationship, and literally all of them point in a similar direction. With Indonesia becoming increasingly dependent on China, Beijing exploits this relationship to achieve not just commercial goals and political coercion, very mich as it does with all of its other 'partner' countries.

    You are right in that Indonesia is importing low-cost consumer goods from China, but this doesn't not "allow better quality of life for people" as you claim. Your statement is wrong. Already in 2024, Indonesia has introduced measures to limit sales of cheap imports on e-commerce platforms such as Shopee, Lazada and TikTok Shop that are hurting local firms.

    This is just a TINY summary of why your claim of Indonesia benefiting from its relationship with China is outright false.

  • Dramatic policy U-turns put Canada far behind in the global EV race

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  • What is your research? You're posting a series of bold claims paired with second-hand intimidation, but no clear, verifiable information.

  • Dramatic policy U-turns put Canada far behind in the global EV race

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  • The numbers clearly say that there are no long-term benefits from trade and/or economic ties with China, except for China itself.

  • Is more trade with China really a good idea? -- [Opinion]

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  • Still better than the US.

    This comment has become almost funny in the meantime. It's something like 42, the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. If you run out of arguments, just say it's better than the US :-))

  • Dramatic policy U-turns put Canada far behind in the global EV race

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  • Can you tell me how even one of them benefits?

    These are just random lists of companies and countries. Literally all the countries, for example, have been showing increased trade deficits with China, while many trade their commodities and raw materials for high-end goods. Especially in Asia and Africa, they are prone to political and economic coercion (e.g., the Hambantota International Port in Sri Lanka, the country's second largest port, is owned now by China, which is one reason why Sri Lanka's government lacks de-facto economic independence).

    Workers' rights violations are widespread in literally all these countries, aggression against its neighbours on land and at sea. Just to name a few examples.

    The 'bad faith' posting comes from you. This list is a very bad joke.

  • Dramatic policy U-turns put Canada far behind in the global EV race

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  • Which are China's allies? Literally all trade partners have increasing deficits, economic and political coercion is widespread, transnational repression has been increasing, China's interference in domestic affairs and election is strong not only in Canada but everywhere. And that's just a tiny selection of bad examples.

    Just name one country that ever benefited from a 'tight relationship' with China in the long term?

    Which non-Chinese company had ever long-term success in the Chinese domestic market?

    Having said that, the choice is not just between the US and China. Canada must diversify its trade away from both the US and China.

  • Dramatic policy U-turns put Canada far behind in the global EV race

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  • For that matter we should start building a much tighter relationship with China overall. They may end up being an ally, as strange as it sounds.

    That's sounds indeed strange, and it will never become reality. If and when Canada opts for a 'tighter relationship' with China, it will only weakens itself. China will use any leverage to bully its so-called 'allies' as it has been doing for decades. Canada won't be an exemption (China's tariffs on Canadian canola was a good example for this).

    The only option for Canada is a strong diversification of its trade, particularly with democracies in Europe, in the Indo-Pacific, and elsewhere imo.

  • Ottawa “welcomes” assault on Venezuela, but fears a rampaging America threatens Canadian imperialist interests

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  • This is one of these sites where you get both the content and your opinion just in the title. You can safely ignore that.

    Given this and the tonality of your comments, I end this discussion as it leads nowhere.

  • Ottawa “welcomes” assault on Venezuela, but fears a rampaging America threatens Canadian imperialist interests

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  • That's one reason why such disinformation is spread: anger. That's one thing propagandists are aiming at. It helps to spread the fake news across the web.

  • Ottawa “welcomes” assault on Venezuela, but fears a rampaging America threatens Canadian imperialist interests

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  • So, China, Russia and the 'tankies' here are using the US attack on Venezuela for vindication, including by posting 'sources' like the wsws, one of the worst propaganda tools parroting dictatorial statements only.

    You can safely ignore that.

  • Ukraine's Zelenskyy says he's appointed Chrystia Freeland as an economic adviser

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  • Can't serve two masters

    Please read the article before commenting.

    She'll step down as a member of Parliament in the "coming weeks" after accepting a new role.

    Freeland said she would now "step aside" from that role [as Canada's new special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine]

  • Ukraine's Zelenskyy says he's appointed Chrystia Freeland as an economic adviser

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  • Money's about to start raining so…

    That's a strange comment given that Ukraine will need significantly more than $500 billion for the reconstruction and damage repair alone (as per the latest available data from Feb 2025).

    Freeland already serves as Canada's special representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

  • Removed

    ‘Our minerals could be used to annex us’: why Canada doesn’t want US mining

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  • Canada shoudn't want any mining by foreign entities, no matter what country, because in the end there is always a very real threat of exploitation for the benefit of foreign interests at the expense of Canada. Such 'annexation' comes not necessarily by military force, but can also come by political or economic coercion due to dependence on foreign entities or states.

    The US has shown that to Canada already of late. China has been doing that to its 'partner' countries all around the globe. Then think of Russia, the former Soviet Union. And all the others now and in history.

    These rare earths and supposedly a lot of other things should become sort of a common good. I don't have blueprint how to organize that for Canada as it's very complicated, but it should be public ownership by stakeholders within Canada imo.

  • Removed

    Americans were told "The Peace President. No new wars." But the punctuation was wrong, it was actually "The Peace President? No, new wars!"

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  • By this rationale, any news related to the U.S. would also fit to the Canada community I would say.

  • Canada pushes back on Chinese military drills in Taiwan Strait

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  • The 'warmongering nonsense' comes from Beijing as it is all about the Chinese party-state's military drills around Taiwan.

  • Happy New Year

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  • And Free Ukraine ... and let Taiwan be free.

  • Russian ambassador to Canada: "Russia's borders end nowhere"

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  • If you watch the tacky little video what he actually says is something about the "Great Patriotic War" 80 years ago but doesn't mention his country's current war against Ukraine (nor the hybrid warfare against Ukraine's supporters).

  • Ottawa is still dodging the China interference threat: Alarming claims out of P.E.I. point to deep foreign interference, and the federal government keeps stalling. Why? -- [Opinion]

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  • What is a good source regarding this topic? Which media are you consuming?