First a bit of a rant:
Tony Blair gave a speech at Dongguan in southern China last week. He charged 237,000 pounds. I haven’t seen the full text of his speech, and therefore I apologise if I do him a disservice. From the reports of the speech, it appears that his speech broadly praised the changes that have taken place in China over the past decade and more. I have seen no report of any questioning, any challenging of an audience that will have been made up exclusively of the powerful and the rich.
I am deeply disappointed that a man who has made himself a moral arbiter, putting thousands of lives in harm’s way in defence, he would claim, of democracy – should choose when in China to take the money and run, churning out platitudes without challenging his audience to think about the many very worrying and challenging consequences of changes implemented by an unelected political party. Serving politicians and diplomats are always circumscribed, on international visits, by the foreign policy of their government. Blair was only circumscribed by the money. He could have seized the opportunity to say something worthwhile, but it might well have offended his hosts.
Interestingly, from what I understand, the local press was very rude about the lackluster tone of Blair’s speech That’s pretty rich in a country where speeches by the leadership are without fail stilted, scripted, clichéd, sloganeering and instantly forgettable. So is their criticism simply an anti-foreign outburst – they didn’t get value for money? Did Blair do something to offend someone? Or is their outburst a reflection of real disappointment – no matter what rubbish they expect from their own leadership, they expect more challenging fare from a former leader of one of the world’s great democracies?
Now – and possibly of far greater importance – to bring a smile to your face, click this link to view the Back dorm boys. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBlCtqsat-w