Gordon Robinson | The Fall of the British / US Empires and the Rise of a Chinese Dynasty | In focus


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Those who believe it meant nothing to England when Barbados “severed ties with the monarchy” better think again.

Traditional British people are outraged that “Bim”, formerly England’s most trusted devotee, dared to believe without being able to survive the protection of Queen Elizabeth from the pagans of the world. A Jeremy Clarkson, with an available platform in the Sunday times, revealed his rowdy bigotry on December 5th with a headline rant Goodbye Barbados, China can have you!:

“Apparently, Prince Charles was quite confident during his ceremonial visit to Barbados. But I bet that behind the impenetrable mask of duty he wore a crooked smile. Because like everyone else he will know that around next Tuesday [Barbados] will regret his decision to become a republic. “

Oh dear, what has Little England done to itself now?

Clarkson displayed the insanely arrogant mindset of a former colonial ruler and condescendingly proclaimed that he was “Know Barbados pretty well”. As? He “Spent almost 20 years there every Easter”. Well whoop-di-doo! On the basis of this scientifically acquired local knowledge, he blamed Barbados (which he had not visited in years because of alleged harassment by tourists) for having mapped out its own path. He seemed confident that Barbados had a new lover: China!

Apparently possessed by a green-eyed demon, he wrote:

“The people of Bajan will be complacent about it. They got rid of the Queen … and are campaigning for a replacement who has already given the country a new roundabout and better toilets for everyone in it. Nice.”

How deep can you go China’s ambitious Belt and Road initiative was launched in 2013. By 2020, 125 countries had signed 173 “cooperation agreements”. Eight of the 15 CARICOM members have registered, namely Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad.

Neither of them did this to annoy the queen or to get free toilets. This is snobbish snobbery!

According to Clarkson, they’re all just plain stupid like “Beijing is trying to lure poorer countries into debt traps”.

He gives “examples”:

[China] lent the Ugandan government a wheelbarrow full of cash but wound up the debt so that it could not be paid back. And now it’s like: ‘Well, you’ve forfeited, so we want, we think, Entebbe Airport.’ “

Fact check: Reuters reported from Kampala (November 29) that the Chinese embassy had rejected the public exaggeration of confiscating Uganda’s only airport. The public outrage was sparked by a parliamentary investigation that found that the loan terms “arduous” (shocking international credit institutions / governments “arduous” Terms, right?) Including “Potential” Forfeiture of the airport in the event of default in payment.

There was no decay or demand for the airport. The Chinese embassy in Uganda named the allegations “malicious” With “No factual basis” and “It is evil to just distort China’s good relations with developing countries, including Uganda.”

The message was more specific: “Not a single project in Africa has ever been confiscated by China for failing to pay Chinese loans.”

What the hell would China want with a Ugandan airport? Every international lender wants to benefit from interest payments and as much geopolitical support as possible. Both are fine with her – both ideal.

THE RANT CONTINUES

Back to Clarkson’s excessive arrogance:

“In a few years, Barbados will simply be absorbed by China …. The Barbados government has already opened an office in Beijing to attract investment, and the Chinese seem happy to comply. So far they have handed over £ 400 million to be spent on home improvement and roads and possibly a new luxury Hongqi car for the Prime Minister … “

Attention Jamaica! Out of pity, do not seek investments from China. We can’t believe you turned down our offer of a brand new prison to take in Jamaican deportees from the UK. Instead, they are accepting Chinese help with streets and homes. TSK tsk.

If Jamaica gives priority to British prisons on Chinese roads, its political leaders can expect unfounded abuse, much like this intolerant ignoramus insulting Mia Mottley.

Clarkson continues his anti-China talk:

“Then we have Sri Lanka, which was forced to hand over an entire southern port to the Chinese because it could not afford to pay back the £ 980 million it borrowed from Beijing to build it.”

Sigh. This one is worse than the Ugandan example. The whole truth is that while debt was already skyrocketing, a lavish Sri Lankan government embarked on a project that it knew was not feasible from its own studies and that other frequent lenders like India had rejected.

China, in search of global influence, was happy to spend money on the project. After years of construction and renegotiations with the state-owned China Harbor Engineering Company, the project failed as forecast. With tens of thousands of ships passing through one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, the port attracted only 34 ships in 2012.

Sri Lankan voters switched government in 2015 and the new government struggled to pay off its predecessor’s debts. Under pressure from the Sri Lankans, who considered a debt ratio of 80 percent unsustainable, and after months of negotiations, the government turned over the Air Jamaica-like albatross. This was not a hostile takeover. It was Sri Lanka’s way out of a bad Sri Lankan decision.

Clarkson seems almost manically obsessed with China’s “belt and road” geopolitical strategy with massive budget surpluses created through years of hard work, sacrifice, and thrift. He complains: “Since 2005, China has lent the Commonwealth countries alone £ 700 billion.”

What is happening is a tectonic shift in geopolitical influence that China has tactically recognized may come from third world support. Meanwhile, Britain views the developing world as insignificant, criminal children who should only speak when spoken to and do as they are told. The US sees it as a group of “pickup countries” that should be ignored or bullied. So while China is using generosity to woo the developing world, the US / UK ignores it unless instructed to do so.

Africa in particular woke up and recognized the geopolitical opportunity. The Caribbean is lagging behind, as always, but its alarm clock is finally off the snooze function. Barack Obama felt the steel tip of the Loss of Influence penetrate the US hinterland, hence his Cuban policy change and his visit to Jamaica. The orange orangutan was unable to pretend it cared.

RACIST RANT

Like an old man on a nude beach, Clarkson revealed his boundaries by closing in a racist swear word on Chinese people disguised as a warning to Barbados:

“When the Chinese take control, it’s not a pretty sight. Because in my experience, Chinese think that non-Chinese are basically ants. We are completely irrelevant …. I was there and said some firm but fair things about their really horrific cars and no one cared about them … “

Poor boy. Didn’t anyone take you seriously? Boo hoo.

“In Laos I watched a busload of Chinese tourists prepare their packed lunches and throw the styrofoam boxes into the Mekong. And when I warned them to do so, they looked at me as if we were looking at a flower pot or a lamppost. “

Or an annoying busy person with an antipathy towards Chinese tourists …

“If you want to build a casino resort in Barbados, even though casinos are illegal and … some locals are protesting on the grounds that it is ugly and will require the destruction of an entire city, they will do it. she [won’t] Maintenance.”

What what what? Ugly? Look, Clark, son of Nostradamus. The Government of Barbados has the right to give any foreign investor permission to start a responsible business that is beneficial to Barbados. This. Is. As. Small. “Development”. Conditions. Grow. That’s none of your business!

“… when the Chinese arrive … those fun little dives on First and Second Street [will] to a Bicester shopping village that draws visitors to cruise ships docking in the new port where Sandy Lane was formerly. ”

What is the actual flock? And what’s wrong with a Bicester Shopping Village? Too many hoi polloi allowed?

“Worse, everything that made Barbados Barbados [will be] swept away to make room for waving golden cats; hideous casinos; and another shop that sells fake Burberry hats … ”

Now kiss my red, wrinkled Rungus kungus mi nungus! This innate colonialist apparently thinks he knows more about Barbados than about the Barbados! THEREFORE, the Caribbean nations must reconstruct their systems of government and education according to their own image and at the same time drive out of our heads former imperialists who KNOW that we do not know what is good for us.

I have bad news for you. Like it or not, we are witnessing the fall of the British / US empires and the rise of a Chinese dynasty. And former colonies have learned to make friends from outside. Especially during COVID, Barbados received aid from the US, India, Ghana, Cuba, UK, China and many others.

Going forward, the State Department of Jamaica, which is currently in excellent hands, will be an important political resource to develop subtle strategies to capitalize on the shift in the balance of power without becoming another colony ruled by another colonial ruler . Physical, psychological or fiscal, colonialism by any other name is just as depressing.

Peace and love!

– Gordon Robinson is a lawyer. Email feedback to [email protected].

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