I have just noticed a few comments in some New Zealand blogs in defence of the New Zealand China Friendship Society which Trevor Louden had called a "communist front". Well, I don't think even the Communist Party of China is much of a "communist front" nowadays, at least economically.
However the New Zealand-China Friendship Society still pushes the line of the Chinese Communist Party on many issues especially the recent history of China, and the books they sell on their website do lionize Mao and the communist takeover of China which they routinely refer to as "liberation".
My main criticism of these China Friendship Societies (there are many scattered throughout the world) is that their functions are outdated. If you want to take a trip to China and make friends or do business with ordinary Chinese people it is very easy to do so without having anything to do with these organisations. The masquerade of these societies fostering "friendship between the people of New Zealand and the people of China" belongs to the same era as foreign exchange certificates and friendship stores. These were designed to keep foreigners at arm's length from the ordinary Chinese people in the street and make sure they were involved through official channels and that their knowledge of China and contact with Chinese people could be easily controlled.
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1 comments:
Michael you need more full stops in this post.
People can't talk to other ordinary people, they could find they have things in common. And then who would we have to demonise about screwing up the worlds environment or starting wars or the current trouble with Heathrow's luggage handling system.
Although the system of 'a pig pile on the floor' is one that is beloved and used by teenagers everywhere, so how hard can it be?
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