Comments on: China’s Thanksgiving Snub

By: Eric Kvilhaug

Eric Kvilhaug — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 01:00:12 +0000

I’m going to choose all of the above, if we as the United States of America bared a Chinese ship from entering our ports “just because”, we would probably have a war on our hands, with China and Wal-Mart. We have been snubbed and have taken it, TWICE. Why because we do not want to get on the bad side of China even though it is apparent they are just testing us to see our true character. We have shown it, submission, they can keep on blocking our ships and there is not a thing we are going to do about it. Is it payback, probably not, but the can so they will, school yard mentality. But I guess we have used it in the past and present when we did not like certain actions of certain countries.

-End Rant-

By: Witold Sadowski

Witold Sadowski — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 05:40:10 +0000

China blocked another U.S. ship today, 11/30/07:

http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSN3026469320071130

By: Chris Carr

Chris Carr — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:56:09 +0000

Good find, Witold.

Yep, it highlights the need for modern day kowtowing (”bow to our sovereignty over Taiwan”) if you want to do business with China, just like Dr. Morris highlighted for us ….

By: Witold Sadowski

Witold Sadowski — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:34:59 +0000

China Explains Decision to Block U.S. Ships… “because of the Bush administration’s proposal to sell upgrades to Patriot antimissile batteries to Taiwan” Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/30/world/asia/30ship.html?ref=world

By: Nic Marlin

Nic Marlin — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:45:23 +0000

I would tell President Bush that he should consider what a brash response might do to our business relationship with China. The Dali Lama’s recent visit and the Pentagon’s decision surely have the Chinese government upset and this may have been the reason for their actions. They know very well the importance of our trade relationships, and perhaps this is why they later gave the ships authority to enter. The reason for the Chinese denial of the ship is relatively unimportant, as we would not know if they were telling the truth anyway. Threatening China’s government to give a reason for the inconvenience is a bad economical decision because it could exacerbate governmental tension, thereby potentially harming both of our economies if trade was temporarily hindered. Carefully requesting that they apologize to the crewmembers of those ships for ruining their Thanksgiving plans may be appropriate, but we should be sure not to add any tension to the current situation.

By: Catriona Banks-Orosco

Catriona Banks-Orosco — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:02:41 +0000

Mr. President,

I believe China is trying to send a message that they will not do our bidding. Their economic power is gaining strength at an incredible pace. Our economies are closely tied and the dollar is weakening. The government is making it clear that they will stand up to the US if needed. I do not believe China can be relied upon as a military partner.

We have many business ties with China. Therefore, diplomacy is necessary and expected. It is clear that Beijing waited to grant permission. It would appear that this is mainly tied to your visit with the Dalai Lama. I don’t believe apologies are necessary from the US and I would not expect any from China. It is in our country’s best interest to maintain a friendly stance and focus on shared business and environmental interests. We can not underestimate China’s power, economically or militarily. I know our military families want an answer, but I suggest you take the high road and not turn this into a battle over pride. Do not plan on docking in Hong Kong next year. Look for ways to strength our ties in those areas where we are in agreement.

By: Witold Sadowski

Witold Sadowski — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 05:32:50 +0000

“Press reports from Hong Kong linked the blocking of the port call to recent air-travel limits imposed by Chinese authorities in the region near Hong Kong that may be related to ongoing or planned military exercises” according to the Washington Times. The article also states that two other U.S. ships were denied entry to Hong Kong, when they were seeking to refuel, several days before the Kitty Hawk was turned down. Maybe they want a few days of privacy in the area?

By: Dena Malloy

Dena Malloy — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 01:30:41 +0000

I agree. I would bet that this episode was in retaliation for the US hosting the Dali Lama. China is extremely adept at diplomacy and also extremely sensitive. I guess that they felt they lost face over the Dali Lama standoff and now they did something to make us angry and equally hurt. Maybe they now think that we are even, and can resume normal diplomatic relations.

By: Jesse Dundon

Jesse Dundon — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:32:47 +0000

I think that it definitely has some relationship to the award given to the Dali Lama last month. If anybody watched the press conference with Bush before the award was granted, he made it pretty obvious that he didn’t really care about what China thought about the Dali Lama. I am not criticizing Bush’s reasoning, because the Dali Lama is certainly a great man, and America has a tradition of backing up smaller countries like Tibet that are abused by tyrants.

However, Bush just looked so stupid in his explanation that I am not surprised that China would retaliate. And that they did, but in a way that could be easily “explained away” and minor enough not to cause a huge uproar. China could not take the insult of honoring the Dali Lama, and had to do something about it to retaliate. Petty, yes. Explainable, most certainly.