Is this a mistake or a first strike by China?
How China was going to respond post the Huawei-being-banned-by-GCSB issue has always been a question hanging over everything else.
You could argue that China economically targeting the weakest member of the 5 Eyes was strategically beneficial as a warning to the others, to beat the living snot out of us with a variety of damaging import export games that could easily trip us into economic recession would be a reminder to Australia, Canada, Britain and America what a full blown trade war looks like.
Let’s hope this Air NZ problem was just a hiccup and let’s hope decision makers see the danger of having all our cows in one Beijing paddock.
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China is reclaiming its traditional role as the Middle Kingdom where others pay tributary. AirNZ flips for food, accomodation, flights, and transfers for an undetermined number of passengers.
Yeah there is a very valid argument to be made about winding back globalisation. A sovereign nation should never find itself beholden to the political whims of another country due to self-imposed interdependence. There should be a contingency in place to ensure we can’t end up literally starving (like Venezuela is right now), because some country we relied on (e.g. China, Australia and the US) decides to boycott/impose crippling sanctions to force us to “bend the knee” to an agenda we don’t at all agree with.
This action by China is very weird indeed. Can’t see Air NZ not being fully aware with aviation rules and regulations concerning landing rights, permits etc! It is something airlines must be fully compliant with to conduct their business of flying economically and efficiently.
Be interesting to hear views from people who have travelled to and from various cities in China recently, to find out if any issues have occured.
China making a point of “don’t mess with us, or else …” statement to the rest of the world? Maybe …
Pushy bastards they are so bad.
Best know now how they lack respect for other countries before we get to deep into activities with them Martyn.
China will play this game well. As they buy and distort foreign media it will also become increasingly difficult to sort the fake news from real:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-08/chinas-foreign-media-push-a-major-threat-to-democracies/10733068
I’d be really interested to know if there was Chinese money in the NZ Herald China edition which was caught sanitising its content.
+100..re …”let’s hope decision makers see the danger of having all our cows in one Beijing paddock.”
…the sooner NZ economically detaches from China the better for most New Zealanders and their environment and their culture and their assets eg housing, water, territorial fishing rights , Antarctica, businesses, land and infrastructure .
…we need to diversify markets away from China..towards Russia, Europe, South America, Great Britain…which will not seek to undermine and erode and buy our democracy, flood our population, and plunder our resources
New Zealand has an illegal government, as it has not been directly appointed by the authorities in Beijing.
Perhaps an intervention similar to what the US is executing in Venezuela is also being considered by Mainland China now?
One day the so far mostly comfortable middle class, owning property, two to three cars per household, all latest gadgets and able to afford overseas holidays now and then, will get an uncomfortable wake up call. So many think that NZ’s isolation will protect them from any potential outside influences that go further than being benign.
The day may come that this country will be seize upon in one way or another, so to turn it into another kind of modern day colony, not one of the US or UK, but one of the Middle Power in East Asia.
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