There is a lot of talk about the United Kingdom Commonwealth and ending colonialism.
13 September 2022By Afua Hirsch
This will be remembered as a watershed moment in British history (click here) for two reasons. First, for the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Second, for what happened next: the voices of those colonised in the name of the British crown being heard, not as a fringe, exceptional view, but as a clamouring chorus of global trauma.
I had prepared for this moment as a time when I would not be free. I have no idea how I actually feel about the passing of Queen Elizabeth – the only British monarch I have known in my lifetime – because for all my life deference and admiration have been drilled into me as mandatory....
Besides the past year demonstrations where the Royal Family traveled in recognition of the Queens Platinum Jubilee (click here). There is also a reflection of history with her death.
By Caroline Houck
Queen Elizabeth II’s death (click here) last week has prompted both an outpouring of grief and complicated reactions across the globe — in large part because during her 70 years on the throne, she ruled over the twilight of the British Empire.
At the height of that empire after the First World War, the United Kingdom had colonies on every continent save Antarctica, ruling one out of every five people in the world. Over the centuries, Britain extracted wealth from those colonized lands — by one estimate, $45 trillion in today’s dollars from India alone.
“All empires were violent,” said Caroline Elkins, whose second book, Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire, came out earlier this year. “And the British Empire was no exception to that.”
And decoupling the monarchy from that legacy is in some ways impossible....
There are still real monarchies in the world and the UK is one of them. When Brexit hit, it was more than about the Sterling, it was about being absorbed as a colony to Europe. While the Euro is a strong currency, Brexit was more than economic security. The UK membership brought a lot with it than simply the island country.
Over the years to come the break-up of the Commonwealth will be making front page headlines. The Queen's death isn't destabilizing so much as an opportunity for change.
September 19, 2022By Lauren Frayer
Mumbai - As world leaders gather in London (click here) today for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – head of the Commonwealth's most populous country – is absent.
Seventy-five years after it cast off British colonial rule, India sent its ceremonial president – a woman from one of the country's indigenous tribes – to its former monarch's funeral. As head of state, Indian President Droupadi Murmu's presence adheres to protocol, even though a mix of other prime ministers (heads of government) and presidents and royals (heads of state) are in attendance. Murmu also paid her respects to King Charles III at Buckingham Palace separately, before the service.
Modi's absence could be seen as a sign of his political priorities. Last week, he attended a security summit in Uzbekistan with Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping. But he's skipping a chance to meet President Biden and others at the queen's funeral, as well as the United Nations General Assembly in New York....
Some of these countries that are colonies to the United Kingdom have been well served and protected. It won't be simple for some to sever their relationships with the UK. The issue of national security and/or economics really is a formula these countries have to meet. I think for the UK, Belize is an interesting example of independence.
21 September 2020Written by Nicole D. Ramsey
...Becoming an independent nation on September 21, 1981, (click here) Belize is the last country in Central America to do so. Belize’s long road to self-rule is marred with conflicts pertaining to enslavement, land dispossession, and territorial disputes. For example, Guatemala claimed the Belizean territory although Belize was formally declared a British crown colony in 1862. Guatemala’s claim prolonged the nation’s ability to seek independence until the early 1980s. In 1992, Guatemala finally recognized Belize as a sovereign state, although recent developments have led both Belize and Guatemala to take their cases to the International Court of Justice in 2019.
British colonization in Belize, like many places throughout the Caribbean, was invasive and omnipresent. It touched all facets of life in Belize and its Diaspora through culture, politics, education, and memorialization. Antiquated depictions of slavery in Belize have often been represented as benign and less violent than other places across Latin America and the Caribbean, an argument which many Belizean scholars and historians have challenged.
Belizean slavery, although not related to plantations, was still violent and allowed for particular forms of resistance and identity-making to take place....
Separation into a sovereign country is possible and conducted with a coup so much as agreements. When Belize left the British Commonwealth it owned a great deal of money. It isn't as simple as paying off the UK, there are also individuals involved with these small countries and they have certain rights. In the case of Belize it is Michael Ashcroft a former member of the House of Lords.
They are not necessarily draconian folks that take all the wealth and abandon the country they are involved.
A press release has been issued by the Belize Bank, (click here) today Wednesday, March 25, 2020, stating that Lord Ashcroft has spoken to the Prime Minister of Belize and advised him of his donation of BZ$10 Million in efforts to combat COVID-19.
April 10, 2021By Zoila Palma
...Тhе соuntrіеѕ оwе ‘ѕtаggеrіng’ аmоuntѕ оf mоnеу tо ѕеvеrаl fоrеіgn lеаdеrѕ (click here) аnd аrе аlѕо fасіng сlіmаtе rіѕkѕ аnd thе СОVІD-19 раndеmіс соntіnuеѕ tо hаvе ѕеvеrе есоnоmіс іmрасtѕ оn thеm.
Ассоrdіng tо а nеw аѕѕеѕѕmеnt bу thе Wоrld Ваnk аnd Іntеrnаtіоnаl Моnеtаrу Fund (ІМF), thе соmbіnаtіоn оf dеbt, сlіmаtе сhаngе, аnd еnvіrоnmеntаl dеgrаdаtіоn “rерrеѕеntѕ а ѕуѕtеmіс rіѕk tо thе glоbаl есоnоmу thаt mау trіggеr а сусlе thаt dерrеѕѕеѕ rеvеnuеѕ, іnсrеаѕеѕ ѕреndіng, аnd ехасеrbаtеѕ сlіmаtе аnd nаturе vulnеrаbіlіtіеѕ.”Тhе ІМF аnd thе Wоrld Ваnk wіll mееt аnd dіѕсuѕѕ wіth dеbtоr соuntrіеѕ, сrеdіtоrѕ, аdvосаtеѕ, аnd rаtіng аgеnсіеѕ tо fіgurе оut hоw tо mаkе nеw mоnеу аvаіlаblе fоr whаt thеу саll а grееn есоnоmіс rесоvеrу.
“Оnе оf thе соuntrіеѕ аt thе сrоѕѕrоаdѕ оf thе сlіmаtе аnd dеbt сrіѕеѕ іѕ Веlіzе, а mіddlе-іnсоmе соuntrу оn thе Саrіbbеаn соаѕt оf Сеntrаl Аmеrіса. Іtѕ fоrеіgn dеbt hаd bееn ѕtеаdіlу rіѕіng fоr thе lаѕt fеw уеаrѕ. Іt wаѕ аlѕо fееlіng ѕоmе оf thе mоѕt асutе еffесtѕ оf сlіmаtе сhаngе: ѕеа-lеvеl rіѕе, blеасhеd соrаlѕ, соаѕtаl еrоѕіоn. Тhе раndеmіс drіеd uр tоurіѕm, а mаіnѕtау оf іtѕ есоnоmу. Тhеn, аftеr twо hurrісаnеѕ, Еtа аnd Іоtа, hіt nеіghbоrіng Guаtеmаlа, flооdѕ ѕwерt аwау fаrmѕ аnd rоаdѕ dоwnѕtrеаm іn Веlіzе,” thе аrtісlе ехрlаіnеd.
Тhе dеbt thаt Веlіzе оwеѕ tо fоrеіgn сrеdіtоrѕ іѕ еquаl tо 85 реrсеnt оf іtѕ еntіrе nаtіоnаl есоnоmу аnd thе ІМF hаѕ саllеd іt “unѕuѕtаіnаblе.”
Dоmеѕtісаllу, thе Веlіzе Gоvеrnmеnt оwеѕ $1.323 bіllіоn іn dеbt, thе mајоrіtу оf whісh аrе іn Тrеаѕurу Воndѕ аnd Тrеаѕurу Nоtеѕ.
So, with those examples in place, the comparison to colonialism by communists is very different. Once colonies of the UK are showing their ability to move forward to independence the relationship actually dissolves, but, business interests remain to help mitigate the problems of the people.
The easiest example of communism in regard to colonialism is China. Hong Kong and Taiwan are prime examples of how China sees no business interests so much as communist control. Yes, the issue is obvious with Russia and Ukraine, but, it is not so much existing colonialism so much as the desired achievement of the return of colonialism of a Post-Soviet state.
By Kate Mayberry
Political activist Alex Chow (click here) has not forgotten the kindness of Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the retired head of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong, who came to visit him when he was behind bars five years ago.
Cardinal Zen has long been known for his work as a prison chaplain. On the day Chow met him at the Pik Uk correctional centre, a maximum security jail in Hong Kong’s New Territories, the elderly priest had taken a public minibus to the prison, some 40 minutes ride into the hills from the densely-packed city....
...For Chow, jailed for his role in the peaceful 2014 Occupy Hong Kong protests, the cardinal was a source of comfort and reassurance and a much-needed connection to the outside world.
“It meant a lot to me,” Chow, who was later released on bail ahead of the appeal he eventually won, told Al Jazeera. “I could see his genuine concern for others and staunch opposition to injustice. I felt like I was genuinely in his prayers and one of the people he cared about.”
The 90-year-old former head of the Catholic Church in Hong Kong now faces a trial of his own....
Hong Kong is not simply a city as many Americans think of it, it is a country.
Communist China is not that old, while the history of the Chinese people is ancient. The current Communist government of China began 101 years ago.
On July 23, 1921, (click here) thirteen members held their first national congress of the Communist Party of China here, marking the birth of the Party.
The people of Hong Kong have an independent identity from China.
Destination Hong Kong, (click here) a Nations Online profile of the territory, also known as Xianggang, the "Fragrant Harbor."
For more than 150 years, Hong Kong was a colony of the British Crown. In 1997 the British returned the city. Since then, it has been a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, a type of provincial administrative unit.
Hong Kong is located on the Pearl River Delta south of the Chinese province of Guangdong and the Chinese city of Shenzhen, surrounded by the South China Sea....
Hong Kong is viewed by Communist China as a threat of which can be invaded by Free World interests with military consequences. Hong Kong was never coveted by the Free World as a military instillation similar to Cuba has been to the USA in the past. The Communists of China have no interest in Hong Kong enjoying self-governance. The Communists of China rather hate the people of Hong Kong and confine their freedoms and rule over them to control all their outcomes. There is no real legal bond on the timeline of history to China by Hong Kong so much as a set of treaties after WWII granting land to China which the Free World had no right to make.
When peace agreements with Japan were made after WWII, China demanded those territories. They were granted to break up any potential of Japan to return to power. The same ideology can be seen when Berlin was divided in four quadrants only to have Russia be the last hold out and the Berlin Wall came down. The Berlin Wall came down because the free people of Germany wanted their entire city and country returned to them. This is a matter of human nature and not of governance. People will fight for freedom because it is their desire and not simply because Communists occupy land near them.
What the Free World witnessed with the violent takeover of Hong Kong is also playing out with Taiwan. Here again, history places no long ties to Communist China of the Taiwanese. It is Communist China that wants possession of the land that is Taiwan based in old treaties that have nothing to do with the modern day world. Today, Taiwan has experienced a strong and devastating earthquake.
The magnitude 6.8 quake was the largest among dozens that have rattled the island's southeastern coast since Saturday evening, when a 6.4 quake struck the same area. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries.
Most of the damage appeared to be north of the epicenter, which Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said was in the town of Chishang at the relatively shallow depth of 7 kilometers (4 miles)....
There are humanitarian issues now and the question is will China be benevolent or continue a hostile relationship with the people of Taiwan. I am certain the Free World will respond to this earthquake and will China stand down and allow the help to flow in or will there be issues of ideology that gets in the way of people that should maintain their freedom today and in the future?
In comparing colonialism within the Free World and that of Communists there is no doubt to the benevolence of the Free World going forward to these small nations of people. Quite the contrary, the Communists do not view these vulnerable people as having the right to self-governance.
Besides the humanitarian aspect needed for these small nations, they contribute to the global economy. In the case of Taiwan it is the global supply of microchips. I know the Free World can produce microchips, but, will they meet Taiwan's quality or will the change to a different environment in Texas be equivalent?
If there is to be peace in the world it needs participation of all nations of people. When war breaks out it is an interesting time on Wall Street, but, it distributes wealth differently than if the world was at peace. People suffer not just in the war zone but across the globe as the countries involved dedicate a lot of assets to the war effort to protect freedom and democracy. Those assets could be used differently in a world at peace whereby economic ties produce benevolence between countries.
There is also a caution globally now due to the radical measures of Russia with Ukraine. The Free World made contracts and concessions in the past with Russia to attain relationships that encouraged benevolence. Russia threw all that in the garbage dump when it decided to celebrate a day in the Five Year Plan with death of Ukrainians and an invasion to teach every other country in the world a lesson. Russia is still attempting to teach the world a lesson when it is obvious their war is over and the death count is becoming clear. A death count that also includes Russians killed by it's own government.
