GAZA LAYS BARE OUR INTERNATIONAL LEGAL DISORDER
It is time for the world's majority to say: 'We no longer accept that any single nation can veto the collective will of most of the world.'
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Dr. William Paton is a former UN official at the Assistant-Secretary General level who lives in Beijing and writes about foreign affairs.
Opinion Pieces
The Magician
The West’s Dangerous Illusions About China
by Bill Paton, 14 April 2022
Eileen Wu is the young Chinese American skier who won gold in Beijing this year, somersaulting down the slopes with near perfection. Born to a Chinese mother and American father, she said: “In the U.S., I’m American, but when I’m in China, I’m Chinese.”
Hong Kong, China
The Tides of History
“Hong Kongese, especially youths, are caught in the tide of history, yet reintegration into China remains an amazing opportunity. Hong Kong is one of only two territories in history (along with Macau), ever to cross what is becoming the world’s greatest divide. Hong Kong has gone from being part of the greatest empire in world history to part of the greatest economic rise in world history.”
One World, Two Systems:
China’s Views Deserve a Hearing
In 1971, over 20 years after the United States embargoed China, the two countries began thawing their relations with a table tennis tournament. “Friendship first, competition second” was the Chinese motto for the match, even letting the Americans win a few games. The USA had sportingly agreed to come and lose at China’s national sport.
Turning The Titanic
China is Within Reach of Showing Global Leadership at COP 26
Like the Titanic ocean liner in 1912, which sank because it was going too fast and failed to avoid an iceberg, countries today are racing their dirty economies too fast, and turning to renewable energy too slowly to avert climate disaster. Just as it was for that ill-fated ship, the outcome for the good ship Earth will also be determined by leadership.
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