Can Barbados successfully tap the exploding Chinese tourism market?

Chinese tourists at Cricket World Cup 2007

Adrian Loveridge – tourism expert, hotel owner

The name Wang Jianlin may not resonate with you, but according to the South China Morning Post he is the richest man in China and recently announced plans to build the world’s biggest tourism enterprise which will overtake the current giant, Disney.

The chairman of the Wanda Group stated that his holding company will achieve an annual revenue of 100 billion Yuan (one Yuan currently equals .16 US Cents), attain annual net profits of US$10 billion and handle 200 million visitors by as early as 2020.

At this stage he has not ruled out entry into the aviation segment after China lifted a five year restrictions on applications for new airlines in 2013 ‘spawning a wave of privately owned start-up carriers’.

To even try and understand the exponential growth, Wanda’s in house travel agency revenue is expected to reach 10 billion Yuan this year, 20 billion by 2017 and 40 billion by 2020.

Last month Wang together with Tencent Holdings and Citic Capital led a US$967 million acquisition of ticketing website, Ly.com, which is currently the country’s third largest online travel site in terms of revenue generated.

The Wanda Group includes the ownership and/or management of over 70 luxury hotels, the world’s largest cinema operation, 110 plazas, 22 million square metres of leasable property, film and television production, substantial print media interests, art investment with total assets exceeding US$85 billion and spanning across four continents.

China showers money, free trips on Barbados journalists and government employees. Where’s mine?

That sound you hear at Chinese embassies throughout the Caribbean is the shuffling of journalists, government officials and other folks crawling on their knees to get their share of the free trips, goods, money and other largesse dispensed by the Chinese government because… because of their good and kind intentions.

The only condition (and it’s not even necessary to agree in writing) is that the receiving governments, people and organisations don’t mention the sins of China or the Chinese Communist Party, including running the world’s largest slave camp system, systemic poisoning of the environment and the routine trampling of human rights, freedom of religion etc.. Also on the ‘don’t mention’ list are forced abortions and executions for property crimes to facilitate government selling of prisoners’ organs. And China certainly doesn’t want to hear any talk of the Tienanmen Square Massacre or how journalists are beaten to death for reporting illegal disposal of cadmium waste. Same same for the concerns over the Confucius Institute programme at UWI.

So pay no attention to these fanciful stories of Chinese slave camps, forced abortions and repression of Christian. Just line up for the free money!

China gives Barbados journalists “Hard-to-resist treats, free trips, all expenses paid… and flattery”

Barbados silent about China kidnapping, forcing late term abortions, sterilizations on 7000 women

What would Sarah Ann Gill think about our silence over religious persecution in China?

The new Bajan export commodity: Wives to China!

Barbados signs environmental deal with one of the world’s worst offenders: China

On this day of emancipation, we pray for millions still held as slaves in China, North Korea, Africa and throughout the Muslim world

China’s New Slave Empire: Africa

China Olympics – Police Ask Bar Owners Not To Serve Blacks Because They Are Pimps, Prostitutes And Drug Dealers

Barbados Prime Minister Promises To Ignore China Human Rights Issues As Long As Communist Dollars Continue

BFP Aug 14, 2008 – Hartley Henry Pays The Chinese Back For That Free Trip!

BFP Apr 28, 2008 – Help Us Confirm The Names Of The Barbados Journalists Who Took Gifts From Communist China

BFP June 6, 2006 – Barbados Media Forgets Anniversary – China’s Tiananmen Square Massacre

DELEGATION HEADING TO CHINA

Some 19 persons will be heading to the People’s Republic of China later this month to attend a number of bilateral seminars on Agro-processing and Agriculture.

The group is scheduled to leave the island next Wednesday, June 10, 2015 for the seminars, which will run from Friday, June 12, to Thursday, July 2, on Hainan Island, China. The delegation will be led by Senior Agricultural Officer, Leslie Brereton, and will include representatives from the Barbados Investment Development Corporation (BIDC), the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC), and a number of private persons involved in agriculture.

The bilateral seminars are fully funded by the People’s Republic of China and are organised through the Academy for International Business Officials (AIBO), also known as the Training Centre of the Ministry of Commerce. The seminars are expected to include presentations, lectures and tours. (KRM/BGIS)

Chinese contractors in the Caribbean can build it cheap… but then the walls collapse

by Afra Raymond

This article is about the Las Alturas Enquiry into the collapse of two new Morvant apartment buildings erected by China Jiangsu International Corporation (CJIC) for the Housing Development Corporation (HDC).

This Enquiry seems a politically-motivated one into a serious failure of professional practice which could have cost human lives. It is only in its opening stages, but it is already clear to me that this episode is one which contains serious lessons for our country in terms of the role of Enquiries; the role of the Chinese contractors; the culture of non-enforcement which we practice and of course, the impact of targets and political objectives on proper process.

In the case of Las Alturas this is a large-scale multiple-housing project constructed on a former quarry-site on the Lady Young Road, just south of the lookout. Two apartment buildings which were completed in late 2010 were eventually declared uninhabitable due to severe cracking and the proposed demolition of those structures was announced at the end of May 2012. Each building comprised 24 three-bedroom/two-bathroom apartments, with the total cost of those buildings stated by HDC to be in the $29M range. The buildings were erected by CJIC on the design/build basis which usually places all responsibility for soil investigation, design and construction onto the contractor…

… continue reading Afra Raymond’s Riding the Dragon

Barbados welcomes Chinese money with no cultural or sovereignty concerns

Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave, China’s Ambassador to Barbados… and a glass of the good stuff!

Have you noticed how the pro-Bajan culture supporters go silent when China arrives?

“Next year, Ambassador Ke noted, through the diligent efforts made by the two sides, some of the major projects supported by Chinese grants or loans will begin to take shape.”

… Barbados Advocate “Cooperation continues“

The same folks in government, politics and finance who warned against British colonisation and American hegemony seem to have no problem with Chinese money pushing Chinese culture and the Communist version of history in Barbados.

Hey… I’m just saying!

Am I wrong?

Talk ya talk…

Cliverton

Barbados government okays Communist Party of China to educate young Barbadians

Barbados’ Minister of Education Ronald Jones gushed with fawning excitement at the unveiling of a plaque to announce that the Communist Party of China will now be teaching our young people their version of China’s history, foreign affairs and human rights. Press release here

China’s Ambassador to Barbados, Wang Ke, was smiling too because he knows that the Chinese Communist Party’s access to our Bajan youth will be on an exclusive basis – with no opposition or human rights groups allowed to spoil the party at the new Confucius Institute to be established at UWI’s Cave Hill Campus.

Teaching adherence to the Chinese Communist party line is a basic requirement by the ChiComs if Barbados is to receive the construction funds and ongoing operational costs from China.

China has built hundreds of these institutions all over the world, that according to various news stories, act as propaganda and espionage centres for the communists.

Don’t expect too many discussions about Tibet, China’s harvesting of organs from executed political prisoners, China’s slave camp system, new African colonialism or government persecution of Christians.

Just take that money and run!

Because… when you’re broke and begging you have no independence left at all.

from Wikipedia Criticisms of Confucius Institutes

“The Confucius Institute (CI) program, which began establishing centers for Chinese language instruction in 2004, has been the subject of criticisms, concerns, and controversies during its international expansion.

Many such concerns stem from the CI’s relationship to Chinese Communist Party authorities, giving rise to criticisms about undermining academic freedom at host universities, engaging in industrial and military espionage, surveillance of Chinese students abroad, and attempts to advance the single-party state Chinese government’s political agendas on controversial issues such as Tibet and Taiwan. Additional concerns have arisen over the institutes’ financial and academic viability, teaching quality, and relations with Chinese partner universities.

Confucius Institutes have defended their establishments, comparing them with other cultural promotion organizations such as Alliance française and Goethe-Institut. However, unlike the Alliance francaise or Goethe-Institut, Confucius Institutes are managed by the Chinese government and operate directly on university campuses, thus giving rise to unique concerns related to academic freedom and political influence. Some observers have noted that CIs are largely limited to teaching cultural and language programs, and the institutes’ staff tend to self-censor with regards to political and controversial subjects as human rights and democracy.”

Report: China foremost country in blood ivory trade. Involved at every level.

“Chinese traffickers are present in every range state and operate at nearly every point along the ivory supply chain.”

“Many conservationists believe that there is covert approval from the top levels of the Chinese administration, that ivory processing and possession is their cultural right, a right which cost tens of thousands of elephant their lives in recent years.”

eTurbo News: China involved in almost every ivory bust

 

Chinese government continues persecution of Christians, Barbados continues begging for Chinese handouts

April 28, 2014 – Chinese government destroys 6-year old Sanjiang Church. Fifty percent of China’s slaves are religious prisoners.

Trading Bajan silence on Christian persecution for cash

Remind me… What was that verse about the ‘love of money’ ?

We Bajans are so selective in our outrage. Worse than Americans really – for if the Americans ban products from Cuba while still doing business with China, the largest single human rights violator in the world, at least the US Government criticizes China’s government for slave camps and other violations of human rights, even as the US continues to do business.

Bajans, however, remain silent about China’s ongoing human rights violations.

How can it be that Barbados – a country founded upon slavery, whips, rape, kidnapping and all manner of human misery – remains silent about China, a country that still maintains the largest slave camp system in the world? How can our government say nothing about the Chinese government kidnapping pregnant women and forcing abortions as government officials hold down screaming mothers? How can we say nothing about China destroying hundreds of Christian churches and imprisoning millions because of their religious beliefs?

The answer is this: The Chinese government purchases Bajan silence in exchange for gifts of cash, travel and material goods. It is in the economic interests of our Government and of certain businesses and individual Bajans to forget about China’s slave camps, religious persecution, forced abortion and infanticide.

And so we remain silent, and even embrace Barbados China friendship.

Further Reading

Telegraph: China accused of anti-Christian campaign as church demolition begins

Telegraph: Christians form human shield around church in China

Daily Mail: Woman finds letter from Chinese slave

NY Times: China’s forced labor

Barbados China Friendship Association – Happy to not talk about China’s slave camps, forced abortions

Long-time readers of Barbados Free Press will remember that our founding editor Marcus (passed in 2013 and greatly missed) had a special place in his heart for the millions of Christians and others imprisoned as slaves in modern China’s Laogai slave camps. Marcus also wrote about the horrific forced abortions where Chinese mothers are kidnapped off the street, and held down while their babies are ripped from their wombs and killed.

All at the direction of the Chinese Communist government.

“In Communist China, the authorities kidnap pregnant women from the street, hold them down and abort their babies.

That is the government were talking about. The same government that has been showering gifts and financial aid upon Barbados in order to win our votes at the United Nations.

Shiu Yon Zhou knows this first hand. Her story is one you will not forget.”

from BFP’s Mother Jumps From Second Story Window To Escape Forced Abortion By Communist Chinese Government

Difficult to believe? Don’t believe an anonymous blog like BFP! Do some research yourself. Here are a few past BFP articles to get you started…

September 10, 2010: Barbados silent about China kidnapping, forcing late term abortions, sterilizations on 7000 women

November 3, 2009: Barbados students forge special bond with imprisoned Chinese pastor – through footballs made in slave labour camps

November 28, 2008: China’s New Slave Empire: Africa

June 28, 2006: Slave Labour Camps “Vital Part of Chinese Economy” – Should Barbados Take Gifts From Communist China?

Meanwhile… if you’d like to learn Chinese and join the Barbados China Friendship Association, here are the details. Just keep quiet about the slavery and forced abortions, okay? 

Glorious consultations between China and wonderful Barbados friends!

Chinese Embassy Held the 4th Regular Consultation with Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados

Chinese Embassy in Barbados press release

On February 27, H.E. Ms. Wang Ke, Chinese Ambassador to Barbados and Mr. Charles Burnett, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados co-hosted the 4th Regular Consultation at the Ministry. Mr. David Bulbulia, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade attended.

The two sides both spoke highly of the achievements of the bilateral cooperation that had been made since the 3rd consultation, and deeply exchanged views on keeping promoting the cooperation between the two countries in the areas of economy and trade, consular affairs, culture, education and international affairs.

Read the Glorious account of the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China!

DO NOT read the lies of the bourgeoisie Barbados Free Press! They are lies! Lies against the peoples of the great Republic of China and the Wonderful Barbados Homeland!

Pay no attention to these fanciful stories of Chinese slave camps, forced abortions and repression of Christians… 

Chinese government calls Senator Trevor Carmichael “a renowned business lawyer”

Why yes, of course.

No doubt about it.

Just so long as we don’t mention that China has the world’s largest organisation of slave camps.

Shhhhh!  Nevermind that awful news if they are going to give us money and gifts!

“Even more gruesome and largely ignored are the mobile execution vans that harvest prisoners organs on the way to planes to be shipped and sold on the black market to the highest bidder.”

Barbados military head thanks Ambassador from world’s largest slave camp operation

Ambassador Xu Hong Meets with Chief of Staff of the Barbados Defence Force

(From Chinese Embassy in Barbados）

2013/08/16

On August 14, Chinese Ambassador Xu Hong met with Colonel Quintyne, Chief of Staff of the Barbados Defence Force (BDF). They exchanged views on how to deepen bilateral relations with a focus on cooperation between Chinese People’s Liberation Army and Barbados Defence Force.

Colonel Quintyne extended his gratitude to the Chinese side for the technical support and personnel training provided to the BDF. He pointed out that in recent years, the military cooperation between Barbados and China developed smoothly with fruitful progress. He hoped to strengthen the cooperation and exchange between the two militaries thus deepening the friendship between Barbados and China.

Ambassador Xu spoke highly of the effort made by the BDF to promote bilateral military cooperation. He expressed the willingness to work together with Barbadian side to further widening the scope of military cooperation with the aim of raising bilateral relations to a new level.

And now for the counter story…

Slave Labour Camps “Vital Part of Chinese Economy” – Should Barbados Take Gifts From Communist China?

Barbados silent about China kidnapping, forcing abortions, sterilizations on 7000 women

China’s New Slave Empire: Africa

China’s Olympic Soccer Balls Made By Slave Labour – But Barbados Doesn’t Care

Barbados signs environmental deal with one of the world’s worst offenders: China

“During the visit, Barbados Environment Minister Dr. Denis Lowe said he was aware of China’s commitment to good environmental governance and its concerns about climate change and other issues which occupied the consciousness of global planners.”

… from a Barbados Government press release (reprinted at the bottom of this post)

“China warns foreigners to stop monitoring its pollution. The Chinese government claims it’s making serious efforts to clean up pollution. But as this horrifying report shows, much of their ‘success’ has involved simply moving their toxic industries out of sight…

Untreated industrial waste is pumped directly into rivers… the water is used to irrigate crops.”

… from the new documentary film Cancer Villages – China

What exactly does Barbados hope to learn from China about managing the environment?

If you’re going to speak, at least speak the truth – better to just keep silent than to perpetuate a lie. At least that’s what I was always taught.

In recent years China has seen mass riots and violent government responses when the citizen-slaves stand up to stop the ongoing slaughter of humanity caused by their government’s callous and long term disregard for people and the environment.

All those low priced Chinese goods you purchase are low priced for a number of reasons: government & private slave labour camps, sweatshops, rampant pollution and the communist disdain for individual human rights and human life.

“I often wonder about folks 200 years ago who purchased cotton and sugar…

Did they care that slaves suffered to provide the products at a certain price?

Every Barbadian should ask their own heart…

“Should we be taking gifts and buying products from a Chinese Communist government that relies upon slavery as a vital part of the economy?”

… from the BFP article Citizen Journalist Beaten To Death By Chinese Government Officials – Filmed Waste Disposal Near Homes

To the communists, people are always a government resource – never individuals. Where the state is supreme and individuals exist only to serve the state, these kinds of environmental abuses and disasters are at their worst. (See China Hush: Amazing Pictures, Pollution in China)

Disposable people feed China’s industrial machine. This man paid the price for low-priced Chinese goods in Barbados.

In the eyes of the Barbados Government, China can do no wrong. Like a dog begging for a cookie, Barbados will do anything and say anything for China – just as long as we know we can pick up some scraps thrown our way.

How Chinese activist artist Ai Weiwei exposed shoddy Chinese construction that killed thousands of students

File under ‘Give more Bajan construction jobs to Chinese companies’

Ai Weiwei

Named by ArtReview as the most powerful artist in the world, Ai Weiwei is China’s most celebrated contemporary artist, and its most outspoken domestic critic. In April 2011, when Ai disappeared into police custody for three months, he quickly became China’s most famous missing person. First-time director Alison Klayman gained unprecedented access to the charismatic artist, as well as his family and others close to him, while working as a journalist in Beijing. In the years she filmed, government authorities shut down Ai’s blog, beat him up, bulldozed his newly built studio, and held him in secret detention–while Time magazine named him a runner-up for 2011’s Person of the Year. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Sundance 2012, her compelling documentary portrait is the inside story of a passionate dissident for the digital age who inspires global audiences and blurs the boundaries of art and politics.

Thanks to an old friend for pointing us to this video

China tourism a ‘pipe dream’ for Barbados? Not according to our ambassador to China

Former Prime Minister Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford told the DLP youth arm on the weekend that Barbados should be pursuing Chinese tourists – if for no other reason that China is the world’s second largest economy and the Chinese love to travel. Sandy says we should cull what we can from the market and nevermind that we don’t have a direct airlift. ‘Stop moaning about no direct airlift and get on with it’ is a good summary of his message.

On one hand, Sir Lloyd’s comments make sense. We must catch as catch can in this economy and we can’t afford to miss any opportunity to attract tourists with money. (As opposed to tourists without money, like many of the cruise passengers who are stretched to pay US$65 a day for their all-inclusive cruises and so they spend zero when their ship docks in Bridgetown.)

But then reality sets in just as it did when Owen Arthur and Noel Lynch announced that tourism from India was the next big thing. Ha! Remember that disaster? And then in 2011 the folks at the Barbados Tourism Authority were just as sure that Russian tourists would save the day. How did that work out?

Let’s consider what it really takes to get from Hong Kong to Barbados, shall we?

According to Expedia.com, “London, GB is the most popular connection for one stop flights between Hong Kong, HK and Barbados, BB.” The site also says that Air Canada runs the shortest flight between Hong Kong and Barbados, with one stop and that “75,477 seats are available per day to fly out of Hong Kong, HK connecting to Barbados, BB” (I would guess that number includes some flights with three stopovers in places like Newark, New Jersey – which JD Power ranked “worst airport in America” and Huffington Post called “a hellhole”.)

Hmmmm…. Nonetheless, maybe Sir Lloyd’s message has some truth in it: the seats are there and we should work at it. Now comes the “but”…

Let’s say we take Air Canada flight A16 nonstop from Hong Kong to Toronto, Canada, leaving May 8, 2012 at 3:10pm Hong Kong time, and arrive in Toronto on May 8, at 6:05pm after spending about 19 hours at Hong Kong airport and on the aircraft. The next flight to Barbados doesn’t leave until 8:40am the next morning, so we have to spend a night in Toronto and then drag ourselves – zombie like – to the morning flight to Grantley. We’ll arrive in Bim on May 9 at 2pm and then spend a couple of hours making our way through luggage and customs and getting to our hotel.

Call it 41 hours of travel door-to-door between your home in Hong Kong and the Hilton in Bridgetown.

41 hours is a long time in transit. Subtract the 41 hours to and another 41 hours return from a week (not to mention travel-zombie recovery time when you reach Barbados) and you’ll see that Chinese tourists simply can’t take a week and head to Barbados. They have to invest at least two weeks to have a reasonable holiday in Bim.

What about going through London on Virgin? Here are the numbers…

Say you left your condo in Hong Kong three hours before the flight. Leave Hong Kong on Virgin VS201 May 8, 2012 at 23:25 hours (wohloss!) and arrive in London on May 9th at 05:25 (zombie!). Then grab the 09:35 flight to Barbados (VS035) and arrive on May 9th at 13:15. Add maybe another two hours to go through customs and get to the Hilton. That’s 31 hours door to door – your Hong Kong condo to checking into the Hilton, Barbados. No sleep except on the airplane. YOU ARE A ZOMBIE.

Now take a day or more to recover.

That is the reality of Chinese tourists coming to Barbados.

Are we that special?

You have to ask yourself: is Barbados that special that Chinese tourists would spend thirty or forty hours getting here? Forget about sand, sun and ocean. Think of the destinations between Hong Kong and Barbados that have beaches, little umbrella drinks and relaxation: Australia, Fiji, Bali, Hawaii, California, Mexico, Jamaica. The flight from Hong Kong to Fiji is nine hours.

What makes Barbados so special that Chinese tourists would choose us over all those other destinations?

I can think of a number of reasons why Chinese tourists would choose an adventure to Barbados – but I’ll tell you this: If I traveled forty hours to arrive in Bim, I had better be greeted by smiling-happy-to-see-me airport and hotel staff. The sullen, pissed off Immigration officials had better not decide to call me ‘coolie man’ with a heavy Bajan dialect under their breath and the sheets on the bed had better not have cigarette burns.

Everybody thinks that Chinese tourism will save us. But when you crunch the travel time, it’s obvious that we’d better not forget those cold farmers in North Dakota come February – because they only take eight hours from snow drifts to rum on the beach.

Our assessment: Until we get hypersonic sub-orbital four hour flights from Hong Kong direct non-stop to Grantley Adams, don’t expect to see hordes of middle class Chinese invading Barbados for a week’s holiday… it’s not going to happen! Sir Sandy is all fired up about China because he is our Ambassador to that country – but I wouldn’t be getting our hopes up thinking that Chinese government interest in our support at the United Nations translates into vastly increased tourism traffic from China.

Babies explain why Chinese-made products are so cheap.

Colour photo (look closely) of a normal day in Shanxi, China

The Statistics

Babies born with Spina bifida, anencephaly and other neural tube defects – for every 1,000 live births…

USA:  .75 for every 1,000 live births

China, Shanxi: 14 for every 1,000 live births

That’s 18.7 times more neural tube malformed babies born in Shanxi than in the USA. (ie: partial brain, spinal cord on the outside etc.)

The Photos

For unbelievable photos of living conditions and pollution in China, check out China Hush Amazing Pictures, Pollution in China.

I just can’t bring myself to post the photos of the children online. If you must, go to Google and search for photos of “shanxi china pollution birth defects”. It doesn’t much matter whether the “SafeSearch” is on or off: Send the children out of the room first.

The Story

Time: How Chinese Babies Pay the Price for Chinese Pollution

Airlift is the key to Bajan hope for Chinese Tourists

Tourism MATTERS!

by Adrian Loveridge - small hotel owner

Its easy to understand why so many people get carried away in the flood to try and ensure that ‘we’ get our share of the the outbound Chinese tourism market. You only have to read some of the headlines like:

‘The Chinese are coming. By their millions. As tourists. And it will change our economy in ways that we cannot even imagine’ according to Tim Hughes a director of Australian based, Value Capital Management.

‘Chinese outbound luxury tourism in growing by more than 25 per cent each year’ and in 2011, 60 million Chinese tourists will travel abroad and spend more than US$50 billion’. source:  China Elite Focus website.

The World Tourism Organisation predicts that “China will have 100 million outbound travellers and become the world’s largest source of outbound travel in the world in 2020’.

In 2010 the US State Department of Commerce declared that ‘the average Chinese tourist spends US$7,000 per stay, more than any other nationality’.

I could go on, and on, but if only a small percentage of these predictions and statistics are, or become factual, its a market we cannot afford to ignore.

“Our biggest challenge of course is geography.”

Beijing is 8,775 miles away, Shanghai 9,381 and Shenzhen, China’s fourth largest city in terms of population, 9,939 miles, and these are the shortest Great Circle distances flying over the North Pole.

China already has a sub-tropical paradise on it doorstep.

The new Bajan export commodity: Wives to China!

Millions of young Chinese men haven’t a hope of finding a wife in China. The reason of course is that China is missing tens of millions of females: unborn, infants and girl children who were aborted or murdered as part of the “one child” policy. Now the societal bill for the last 30 years is coming due in the form of millions of lonely and angry young men.

Once discarded as being “worth less” than male children, Chinese females of marriageable age are becoming a valuable commodity, but that shortage can’t be rectified from within China. It would take decades of baby making and the young men can’t wait. (I wouldn’t and couldn’t wait either!)

What are the young men doing to find love and wives? The answer for some is to find a wife while working abroad in Africa, Asia and North America. The results of this love abroad are starting to appear in the form of photos on the internet in China. I haven’t seen any mixed couples from Barbados, but there are probably some and it won’t be long, especially with all the Chinese workers arriving on the island.

As a mixed-race couple and family, Shona and I are always happy to see other mixed-race couples and families. We think that the more mixing that goes on the better the world will be. Trends can have societal implications though, and some might wonder what the implications of this trend will be for Barbados.

Upon reading a translated article at ChinaSmack I didn’t think of something that came into Shona’s mind right away, but then I’m a guy.

Here’s what Shona said about Chinese men marrying black women:

“Good. If the Chinese value Bajan women for wives, maybe you men will smarten up and start to respect us women more.”

She has a point!

Further Reading

“About chinaSMACK

chinaSMACK offers non-Chinese readers an insight into the world’s largest internet market by translating and reporting popular Chinese internet news, trends, and phenomena as well as Chinese netizen comments, opinions, and reactions.”

ChinaSmack.com: Chinese Men with Black Women & African Wives

PM Stuart returns from China with spin but little real news or accomplished

“How many times does the government get to announce that an air deal with China is “coming” before it’s not news anymore?”

BFP reader WSD reacts to a Nation story about Barbados “making ground” in an air service agreement with China.

The return of Prime Minister Freundel Stuart ends yet another high-level government trip to China. Barbadians were treated to the usual same-old same old photos of our DLP or BLP representatives touring China and shaking hands with the big-ups. Have a look at past photos of Owen Arthur, Mia Mottley and David Thompson hanging around with Chinese government officials and you’ll get what I mean. You could switch the heads around with Photoshop and with the exception of Mia’s big red dress, the photos are all the same image and the same story.

Show me the money!

Like the trips before, there was the usual announcement of another grant from China, this time about six million dollars if memory serves. When the money doesn’t come through (as with the promised library funding) we seldom hear about that. Neither is there much talk about the Chinese workers and companies getting construction contracts while Bajan machinery and hands sit idle. There is especially little talk of how Chinese computer hardware and programming companies are winning government contracts – which is an especially scary proposition for the Barbados offshore banking and insurance industry considering China’s propensity for economic espionage.

Nothing instills confidence and security in the financial sector’s computer operations like having Chinese routers! (Shhhhh!!!!)

The big article in the Nation is that the PM instructed our Ambassador to China, Sir Lloyd Sandiford, to give the air travel agreement with China “priority”. While such an agreement could provide valuable tourists and foreign currency, the BLP and DLP governments have dangled that carrot for five years or more and the hope is wearing a little thin.

But old story or not, that is the feel good article of the day at The Nation and it is designed to lessen the pain of the recent downgrade by Moody’s Investors Service. In many ways the stage was set for that downgrade by the spendthrift BLP Arthur/Mottley government but don’t expect Goin’ wid Owen or Mia to take any responsibility for weakening our foundations long before David Thompson was elected.

As to what Barbados should be doing, each one of us should be working harder, living smaller and doing our best to make every visitor feel like they want to return to BIM. That message isn’t getting out there from the government though, for as PM Stuart says, we’ve made a Chinese air agreement a “priority” and the downgrade is “no cause for alarm.”