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Perhaps for good reason, Canada’s government fears China’s government.
It’s another reason for Canada to more ambitiously seek to securely ally with other trading nations also interested in [if feasible] severing their usual Beijing-bully trade/investment tether.
We’d instead trade amongst ourselves and with non-allied nations that are not China-bound economies.
Even then, China’s restrictive control over its own business sector thus market may give it an edge over free-market nations.
Yet maybe such an alliance has already been covertly discussed but rejected due to the Chinese government strategists knowing how to ‘divide and conquer’ potential alliance nations by using door-wedge economic/political leverage custom-made for each nation.
Perhaps every country typically placing its own economic and big business bottom-line interests foremost may always be its, and therefore collectively our, Achilles’ heel to be exploited by huge-market nations like China.
Frank Sterle Jr.
White Rock, B.C.
You essentially lost me as a subscriber to Peace Magazine with your discussion on genocide (sic) in China with Bob Rae. But you probably already knew that. I regard the cover of that issue as ethnic cleansing porn. Then I also came out of the 1980s peace & disarmament movement understanding that most activists supported killing and taking.
Here is Bob Rae pronouncing himself on the Unlosable War in Ukraine.
Completely wrong headed. It is actually a war we cannot afford to lose. It should be called “The Unlosable War” – for the rule of law, for the peace and security of the world, this war must not be lost.
I have Bob Rae down for an additional 300K to 1/2 million dead Ukrainians before he begins to change his mind. How about you?
https://twitter.com/BobRae48/status/1667517133025050624?s=20
How many additional Ukrainian lives are you willing to sacrifice in order to achieve glorious victory in Ukraine? Irreversible damage has already been done to the weak Ukrainian nation state.
There are now eight million refugees of which three have gone to Russia and most of the rest have gone to rich Western nations. Very few will return due to heightened ethnic tensions and the usual opportunity cost argument. Why return to a low-productivity, low real per capita income country marked by corruption when you can continue to stay in high productivity, high real per capita income countries with far less corruption?
The above is the kind of argument that Bob Rae did not understand when he accidentally took control of the government of Ontario. Though in a way, I did admire his willingness to jeopardize his provincial government in order to support the Israeli nation-building process.
I trust you understand even if you do not agree that this conflict will further hasten the decline of US hegemony. That is not positive for Canada and other rich Western nations but if it is the will of the people, so be it. Similar for those who say they wish to save the world from climate change but are acting to significantly slow the transition.
If you are up for it, review the Winter War and broader strategic circumstances. The Nazi Germans made the same mistake as US-led NATO is currently making in completely underestimating the Russians/Soviets. The Nazis misunderstood the limited strategic objectives in its conflict with Finland and assumed that because small Finland was “victorious,” defeating the Soviets would be relatively easy. Fatal mistake.
Erik Poole
Ashcroft, B.C.
To all who attended (or had hoped to attend) the Civil Society Peace Negotiations Table for Ukraine and Russia on 27 April hosted by the Canadian Pugwash Group:
We asked our international guests and expert audience: What are the main obstacles to a ceasefire, and which ones, if mitigated, might offer the best hopes for a ceasefire? Responses suggested that while both sides are “hurting”, both remain hopeful of improved circumstances, indeed a victory, before concluding the violence. The parties in conflict fear a ceasefire might lock in existing conditions on the ground for future borders. The UN and states friendly to each side have failed to pressure the parties toward peace negotiations. These and other obstacles are set out and creative proposals for mitigating these obstacles are offered for consideration.
We encourage you to share this video link, potentially hosting your own Peace Tables so that we encourage a ceasefire before long. Note this link to the presentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u34z1QyEiHs.Please share your recommendations for next steps with the Prime Minister, your own Member of Parliament, and your local media.
Beverly Delong
Calgary, Alberta