Raymond Huo resigning at election
Raymond Huo has announced he will no longer contest the 2020 election.
china
China; Hack to the Future!
China has apparently been sprung hacking hundreds of western businesses and Government agencies, including some here in NZ. Should we be worried?
No smoking gun but plenty of sunlight from Bridges tape
Maybe not a smoking gun, Jami-Lee Ross’s tape recording of Simon Bridges sheds plenty of sunlight on the influence that money can buy within the National Party, casual racism endemic within National, the manipulation of ethnic communities and, most importantly, insights into the wielding of “soft power” by China.
100 Coal Fired Projects Scrapped.
…including some already in the construction phase.
Trade retaliation
The Nats are in a difficult spot here, no doubt about it. The weak steel is a serious issue and it should be investigated. But their usual tactics of deny and lie have been caught out yet again.
The Ray White – China deal
Real Estate agent Ray White has formed a partnership with China’s Lianjia to market NZ houses to about 260 million Chinese buyers. They say it’s the government’s problem – and they’re right.
China trade realpolitik
We can’t afford to be using sub-standard steel. We shouldn’t have to buckle to pressure to do so, but we have no leverage at all.
Coming Down To Beijing
Our Glorious Leader John Key Il is considering a formal extradition treaty with China. No doubt some genuinely bad people will be sent back, but China’s definition of ‘criminal’ is very, very broad. Why are we sucking up to a country lacking both democracy and a legitimate judicial system? Could it be the money? Could it be the pandas?
We used to be better than this. And not so long ago. Where did we go wrong?
The China Stockmarket crisis
Overnight there has been further turmoil on the Chinese Stock exchange with stocks plummeting 7% before trading was stopped. And things may only get worse when a 6 month ban on trading by major stock owners is lifted.
Sale of Lochinver Station declined
The government has overruled the Overseas Investment Office and turned down a bid to buy Lochinver Station. It’s the first time a bid for a significant landholding has been rejected since 2012.
China Crisis
Good on Labour for saying what needed to be said. Can they, the Greens and NZ First save the next generation of Kiwis from being tenants in our own land?
Includes Bonus Seinfeld reference!
Toil and Trouble.
In the hope of some informed comment…
If you thought the Auckland property bubble was bad now…
… then prepare for it to get a lot worse.
Spying on China
So great, now we’re trying to spy on China. What could possibly go wrong?
Taiwan
Taiwanese legislature occupied. Could be news…
Syria et al.
Sometimes the most complicated and complex situation becomes clear when viewed from a simple and obvious perspective.
Key needs to get real on Fonterra crisis
The Fonterra fiasco is turning into a genuine crisis and a huge risk to our economy. John Key needs to stop playing politics and get real. It’s urgent.
The view from China
The world has become a very strange place when NZ is getting lectured by China. Problem is, they aren’t wrong.
China moving on carbon?
Too many “Western” countries use lack of action from big emitters (China, India, Brazil) as an excuse for doing nothing. Well that excuse just got a whole lot thinner. And the pressure on India and Brazil just stepped up.
Another Peters brain fart
Winston Peters is up to his old tricks again, with a racist attack on Chinese immigration. Heaven help us all if Peters holds the balance of power in 2014.
Sunday Reading
My regular Sunday piece of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. Those stimulating links you wanted to share, but just didn’t fit in anywhere. This week: politicians, economies, elections, feminism and climate change.
Sunday Reading
I’m going to try and put up a piece each Sunday of interesting, longer, deeper stories I found during the week. It’s also a chance for you to share what you found this week too. Those stimulating links you wanted to share, but just didn’t fit in anywhere (no linkwhoring). This week is quite an international edition: the situation in Tonga, China & the UK…
Sold out
As expected, the Nats kept on pushing until they got the answer that they wanted on the Crafar farms. A bit more of NZ has been sold out…
Chinese threats over Crafars deal
China’s political counsel (note, not a trade official) has threatened New Zealand over the Crafar Farms deal saying that New Zealand trade to China and investment from China is at risk. It seems an extraordinary action over a supposedly private business arrangement. As was Chinese Officials’ meeting with the OIO while the first Crafar farm decision was being made.
China
There’s been much wailing and gnashing of teeth over Pengxin Shanghai’s attempt to buy the Crafar farms. Justified too. I want to take a step back and look at the strategy that China is executing and the imperatives behind it. Like any successful organisation, China is seeking to perpetuate its power. That requires securing access to resources. And China’s sitting on the low-cost cash to do it.
Anti-imperialism not racist
National says that you’re a racist for not wanting to sell our assets to foreigners, particularly Chinese state-owned companies. It’s not racism. It’s about our sovereignty. We are never going to be able to choose our way in the world if we sell everything abroad and we do not want to become a vassal of the world’s newest empire.
“Mum and Dad investors”
No Right Turn on National’s spin about “Mum and Dad investors”.
New Citizens’ Party paper flouts electoral law
The United Chinese Press newspaper is potentially facing prosecution under the Electoral Act after it ran adverts on the day of the Botany by-election supporting New Citizens’ Party candidate Paul Young. The paper, the party, and the bidders for the Crafar Farms all appear to have strong links each other and the Chinese government.
New Citizens meet Natural Dairy in Beijing
Does this Herald article about the New Citizen Party meeting in Beijing make anyone else uneasy? I’ve no problem with a new political party that’s targeted at migrants. My concern is the apparent links with the Chinese Government. We don’t want a foreign government putting up a proxy in our elections.
Green China
I confess that I am used to thinking of China as a polluter, not much concerned with environmental standards or green technology. I am very pleased indeed to find that I am wrong. Green technology is yet another area where China is drawing ahead of America and much of the West.
Poppy day in Beijing
It’s diplomacy time in the Asia-Pacific region. While Secretary Clinton came to New Zealand and Australia and President Obama to India and Indonesia, […]
A time of trouble, a time for action
The release of 400,000 classified documents on the Iraq war today highlights a much broader issue for New Zealand. As the world moves into uncertainty, some commentators call it a ‘new new world order’, New Zealand must establish itself definitively, cementing the values we wish to hold true for the coming century.
A PM but not a leader
New Zealand is small country, far from anywhere, always on the edge of irrelevance. To continue our proud heritage of principled and effective international contributions, to hold our heads up high on the world stage, New Zealand needs a leader. But all we have is a PM.
China rising
The idea of The Chinese Century has been around for a long time now. But a couple of articles that caught my eye recently make me think that the start of that century is well and truly upon us.
Natural Dairy NZ & Chinese neo-mercantilism
To have power and independence, any country needs a solid economic base. That’s even more true of superpowers/empires. To secure their economic sovereignty they need the raw materials and markets of less powerful countries. They reinforce their economic sovereignty by taking others’. China does it by buying up whole supply chains.
Free speech zones
The most disturbing aspect of the handling of the Chinese security guard’s assault on Russel Norman is the way that the Nats are going to use it as an excuse to further restrict free speech. Don’t let them set us on the path to America’s notorious “free speech zones”.