Malawi (and maybe Panama) to the PRC?

Hey, it’s just been announced that a Taiwanese man contracted malaria in Malawi.

I’m not saying it didn’t happen, but maybe it’s a misdiagnosis: could be a case of the diplomatic flu.

Personally, I think it is in poor taste to crack jokes about someone contracting malaria, even if they are in jest. The disease kills more than 1 million people each year. I’ve been a vocal critic of some of Chen’s political appointees [ones appointed after second election in 2004) and on the treatment of foreigners in general within many government institutions here, but I have always respected the international field specialists. These people often live away from their families for many years and are the “salt of the earth” IMHO. For example, one Taiwanese doctor in his 80s has returned to Sao Tome year after year to conduct Malaria eradication programs. The medical missions and outreach clinics have helped numereous people in many countries (particularly women and children), many of whom make less than US$1 a day and would have no other way to see a doc. Another agricultural specialist, after being diagnosed with liver cancer, literally worked in the field until his dying day before returning home to die. That’s true dedication and it brings tears to my eyes when I think about it. Now people can crack jokes about the political nature of Taiwan/China overseas diplomacy, but there are many personal stories regarding Taiwan aid that are heartwarming, personal, inspirational and educational. Furthermore, I really respect the volunteers (who I had a chance to interview during recruitment drives for two years). In such a money-oriented society as Taiwan, where parental pressures to make a buck are enormous, any youth, alternative service member or retiree that decides to spend two years serving others deserves the respect of others. These volunteers have shown great enthusiasm and forged relations at the most personal/grassroot levels.

I don’t think Canadian CIDA workers/ EU aid workers etc. are as hardworking in getting their hands dirty in the fields. In fact, I see many EU aid workers as being nothing more than overpaid bureaucrats/dilettantes with champagne tastes, caviar dreams, and condescending attitudes.

Even though I don’t work in the sector any more, I still believe in development programs and charity. We’re sending our 10-year old son on a World Vision tour (for people who sponsor kids as we do) later this month to help the less fortunate in Northern Thailand.

I agree that for the Taiwanese that went to the aid programs, it must have been really gratifying (I’m a boy scout, and have participated in many volunteer events) to do it. What I was speaking about was that the CCP just simply bought (an expensive gift, I would say, like the ones Hu’s wife likes, it seems) the support of a country. Giving help to countries that need is one thing, but we can hardly say that giving $6bn to Malawi without expecting much is another…

Where does this “understanding” of yours come from? My “understanding” is, on the contrary, that PRC aid workers have the same reputation for getting their hands dirty and mucking in that you attribute to their Taiwanese counterparts.

Here is the news about Malawi in today’s China Post: Taiwan severs ties with Malawi and here in the Taiwan News: Taiwan severs diplomatic ties with Malawi


Earlier Forumosa thread: Taiwan Offends African Allies

Hahahaha, Chewycorns is lecturing about making jokes in bad taste!
Hahaha gasp…haha…that’s funny. :slight_smile:

Where does this “understanding” of yours come from? My “understanding” is, on the contrary, that PRC aid workers have the same reputation for getting their hands dirty and mucking in that you attribute to their Taiwanese counterparts.[/quote]
I didn’t really appreciate Chewycorns off-the-cuff comment on the issue, either… especially with the rather negative implication of the word “slave” drivers.

There’ve been some negative press digging at the underbelly of Chinese involvement in the developing nations. But even the worst, unsubstantiated one-sided allegations have only suggested that the Chinese are expecting African workers to work as hard as the Chinese do.

I’m not going to imply that any of this is charity work in the spirit of international communism (as was the case 3-4 decades ago), but China doesn’t have anything to be ashamed of in Africa. Work hard, build things, and give others a fair economic opportunity to work hard as well. And if that isn’t good enough for some, then let them do more for Africa.

sell guns to Sudan without asking also helps the development…

Quite unlike Taiwan, of course, which spends money on diplomatic relations because the weather over there is nicer. :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

they do it, but not at $6 bn, I guess (as far as we know)…

[quote=“cctang”]
I didn’t really appreciate Chewycorns off-the-cuff comment on the issue, either… especially with the rather negative implication of the word “slave” drivers.

There’ve been some negative press digging at the underbelly of Chinese involvement in the developing nations. But even the worst, unsubstantiated one-sided allegations have only suggested that the Chinese are expecting African workers to work as hard as the Chinese do. [/quote]

There has been quite a bit of negative press, wouldn’t you say?

fpif.org/fpiftxt/4065

"Angolans laying fiber-optic cable for Huawei near Benguela say they must dig 16 feet a day, or else they won’t be paid their $5 daily wage. They claim their Chinese bosses only use one Portuguese word, cavar, which is repeated again and again: dig, dig. "

Love this one… I would say “cavai”, which really means “dig dig”, as “cavar” is the verb/action… while “cavai” is the order to dig… but wonder if they are not saying “caval, caval”… :wink:

Chinese overseers are beatniks? Cool!

well, it is just funny because they kicked out the Portuguese for doing something like that… you gotta love the twists of History…

Well, some African leaders want the Europeans to come back!
:laughing:

spiegel.de/international/wor … 03,00.html

Portugal is the #1 investor in Angola and Mozambique. The Cabora Bassa dam costed the Portuguese a huge amount of cash, and we sold it for $900M USD to the government last year.
Too bad for the Chinese they cannot compete in Cabinda…

MYJ just implied more people might support TI in Taiwan if PRC continues to poach ROC allies.

That’s how you give a back handed complement in the international arena.

[quote=“mr_boogie”]Portugal is the #1 investor in Angola and Mozambique. The Cabora Bassa dam costed the Portuguese a huge amount of cash, and we sold it for $900M USD to the government last year.
Too bad for the Chinese they cannot compete in Cabinda…[/quote]
Angola’s present state doesn’t suggest Portugal’s long period of “involvement” in Angola has done much good. As I said, if the European nations can do better, then where are the results? It’s been decades… no, centuries.

By the way, China has offered something like $10b+ to Angola since 2004.
nytimes.com/2006/11/19/magazine/19china.html

Sorry, but both Angola and Mozambique were distinct members of the “cold war club”, when US and USSR fight for the control of countries. My father was in the war against Frelimo (the USSR backed militia) and he said it was impossible, because the soviets were pumping all new weapons into the hands of the guerrilla. On the contrary of what is written in the report, Portugal didn’t suddenly abandon Angola (the writer seems to forget almost 20 years of war), it did it because the pressure in Portugal (after all, the war was the driving reason for the revolution against the dictatorship of Salazar) made the government sign peace treaties with them. What happened after was that the US started backing UNITA and the two militias tried to gain control of Angola.

Unlike China, we have no money to put into projects on the exchange of oil. We developed pretty well Angola, but it is not our fault that they destroyed most of it.

There is an interesting piece in today’s Taipei Times regarding the aftereffects of the breakup between Malawi and Taiwan. At the end, all these comings and goings just mess things up, and in places with a life expectancy of 35, it is an understatement to say that the price is way too high.

[quote]To support the fight against HIV/AIDS in Malawi – where about 1 million people are living with HIV/AIDS and where 15 percent of people aged 15 to 49 are infected – the Taiwanese team, in cooperation with Mzuzu Hospital, launched a program that has allowed around 7,900 patients to receive antiretroviral treatment.

The joint program includes a therapeutic follow-up, which relies on a monitoring electronic system that was developed by the Taiwanese team and that is internationally recognized (The Lancet, Vol. 365, Issue 9469, April 23, 2005).

If, in the name of non-dual recognition, the Taiwanese medical mission has to leave Malawi, the consequences for these patients could be disastrous.

If the team leaves Mzuzu Hospital, the capacity to provide treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS will decrease sharply and will not be replaced by other Malawian health professionals, despite the fact that the mission has made a point of including local health professionals in the program.

Provision of care, distribution of antiretroviral drugs and monitoring of HIV patients will also decrease.

People living with HIV/AIDS will directly suffer from this development and the risk of resistance to drugs will be increased because of the interruption to their treatment.

There is a possibility that the Taiwanese will be replaced by a Chinese medical team.

In theory this could work, but in reality the new team would have to spend time building trust with local people to understand the sociopolitical situation and to gather sufficient expertise on the local experience of HIV/AIDS. This process would take some time. So, once again, the quality of care, drug distribution and follow-up would be seriously disrupted.

[/quote]

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2008/01/17/2003397661

Sometimes they do try to stay and help, even as private entities, but most of the time they are still rejected and must leave. Such was the case in certain country that shall not be named, where a taiwanese company decided to honor their contract -or else they would be fined- and after several months of struggles, they were replaced by a Chinese one. Problem is the same: the studies and evaluations must be done again, delaying vital projects and burning more resources.