Not sure where you got those facts Paul. China’s economy is roughly one third the size of the EU economy and about half the size of the US one. Agree completely that the Government are to be commended for managing to get the future most powerful man in the world to spend three days here (not just a few hours like Obama) and also fairplay to Enda Kenny on his recent trips to America, but don’t you think tis a trifle premature to be making decisions on an election that probably won’t take place for four years? If a week’s a long time in politics, what’s four years?

Bit early to be choosing who your voting for in the next election dont you think? The effects of this government havent even begun (good or bad) and to vote for them because they invited the Chinese Vice-President is even more bizarre. But well done on this visit and i agree we have real potential to be the gateway to Europe for Chinese businesses

Run Paul, fleeeeeeeeeeeee, for your own sake run! *cowers* waiting for verbal assaults to begin.

So where do you stand on the abuse of the Chinese people by there own government.Secondly i doubt you will have to wait till 2016 to cast your vote for the present bunch of liars.

I enjoy all attempts at humour, but Paul Carr’s is easily the best yet. ” China’s gateway to Europe” ! Hilarious. Gatemen don’t get paid much compared to those inside the gates.

I would have thought that Michae D Higgins had a major role to perform in relation to such an important visit.

How about a competent OPEN Government in China?

For the manufacture of toothpicks for Chinese restaurants.

Which forests?

Speaking of forests, China is one of the few countries in the world that it actually *increasing* its forest cover. Better not say that to the nay-sayers though.

Ah now Paul please back that one up, China isn’t widely known for Nature Conservation……….Can you provide a scientific reference for that claim?

Read it on wikipedia today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environment_in_the_People’s_Republic_of_China

Paul if that is your reference for facts,may i suggest you switch to a more reliable source.

From the wikipedia page:

“China has achieved some improvements in environmental protection during the recent years. According to the World Bank, ‘China is one of a few countries in the world that have been rapidly increasing their forest cover. It is managing to reduce air and water pollution.’[8]“

Paul, Wikipedia is grand for general facts but I wouldn’t describe it as scientific or accurate. I have tried googling for some information on the current situation regarding nature conservation in China and haven’t really come across anything which gives information on the World Bank conclusion. I know that TCD sent botanists to China some years ago before they dammed the Three Gorges, basically their mission was to collect seed, information and attempt to conserve plants endemic to China and particularly the areas to be flooded. I think there were similar missions from other countries to record and catalogue the species being lost due to the project. So, perhaps forest cover may have increased but I doubt they are natural forests i.e. not deliberately planted and I doubt they replace a tiny amount of biodiversity lost to the lack of interest shown towards the environment in China.

Sorry Paul your facts are wrong.But why do you feel the need to be a cheerleader for the government,they have broken nearly every promise they made.Also give your vote to Labour because i think they will need it more than FG when the time comes.Green Party anyone?

The Wikipedia article cites a BBC article as its source.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7972125.stm

It’s true.

Forest cover increase is a pretty non-specific term Paul, our forest cover includes moncultures such as Sitka Spruce plantations which are of low value in terms of overall biodiversity. Whilst there may be afforestation underway in China there is no guarantee that it is of high biodiversity value, that native species are being used, that the forests are not being created at the cost of other higher value habitats and that appropriate environmental protection measures are in place to protect watercourses from acidification, pollution etc. as a result of afforestation. Are people being ousted from their homes and villages are they were to allow the Three Gorges project to go ahead? Forestry cover alone is not a sufficient marker of how the Chinese are doing when it comes to environmental protection.

Still cheerleading for the Chinese Government, Paul? Good for you.

Jamie: I don’t cheerlead for anybody.

At what price, Joan?.

Dhakina’s Sword. At what price? Look at the human rights abuses perpetrated by the USA on the international stage. We do business with them, no questions asked. Enda Kenny visited the USA twice in one week.

The USA is bombing 6 countries. Their drones have killed hundreds of people in Pakistan including innocent men, women and children. To say nothing that these attacks are a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and the Pakistani government publicly opposes them. To say nothing that Pakistan has nukes and missiles primed to be launched at India. And u think China is a threat to world peace? Get out of it!

China has made huge progress in human rights over the past 6 decades especially in social, economic and cultural human rights. Malnutrition has virtually been wiped out. Shanty town style slums are non-existent in their cities in contrast to the cities of South East Asia, India and Brazil. A basic decency and human dignity floor has been provided for all their citizens. China is also making progress on civil and political rights, though not as much as in economic, social and cultural rights but steady progress there too nonetheless. The Chinese leadership has decided decades ago that it was going to provide economic, social and cultural human rights to their people first and then civil and political human rights will flow naturally later. They’re right in their calculus.

In 1949, the life expectancy of a Chinese person was 39 years. Now, it’s similar to western developed countries. After WW2, the country was in a bad way as a result of the Japanese invasion, US and European cultural, economic and military imperialism over the previous century, civil war and the incompetence of Qing dynasty officials. It has come from far behind. It was progressing from a low base to start with. The people who would criticize China need to understand the context of China. It is still a developing world economy even today with a per capita income between a fourth and a fifth of the USA for example.

The Chinese juggernaut cannot be stopped. Live with it.

Well, a lot of Chinese are curious about the Chinese condition, but their curiosity cannot be sated because of State censorship and oppression of anyone who disagrees with the Government. Pity, I’d love to go to China, it seems such an interesting place, but the oppression of political opponents, the invasion of Tibet, and the mist of fear left over from Mao’s tyrannical genocides, I’ll wait a few years. Hopefully these words won’t come back to haunt me when I go.

well, mao is tyrannical for sure. but not lots of chinese people today think it’s so serious for daily life now. Past is past. For tibet, it’s conquered by Qing Dynasty(Manchu nationality, my ancestry) for 400 years until now, just like england and scotland. if you dont think scoland is part of UK, then you can suspect tibet issues. and please dont worry no one will notice what happened here from chinese gov. ;)

I see Scotland and Wales as countries with their separate culture and language than England. And don’t get me started on the 6 counties.

So am I entitled to an opinion on Tibet?

this is my first time to see ‘scotland is a separate country from UK’. im not good enough to get all the history or calture about UK or ireland. to make things simply, I know there were 12 nations in Europa when it become EU, not 15(wales,scotland, north ireland and england). and also, most of people in the world wont think the scotland as a single country. for tibet, I dont understand why irish guys like to be criticism. it’s too far for ireland. and it’s our civil issue not yours. to be honest, im not interested in irish indecent from English, it’s not our business. but for irish, lol, tibet looks like behind your family garden.

Paul,
I totally agree, couldn’t have put it better myself!

Point of order. England had no need to invade Scotland. King James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne on the death of QEI. He became James I and so began the rather troubled Stewart dynasty – divine right to rule, civil war, beheading, Cromwell, restoration, Battle of the Boyne. ” Nature red in tooth and claw”….

“The natural state of men, before they were joined in society, was a war, and not simply, but a war of all against all”…Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan…

I think the words “nail” and “head” can be applied to your post Shit you not.

And we know what we need, suck it up you twit. We need investment in this country so bad, it’s unreal.

Joan, do you know what we need, and I won’t call you a twit. We need to grow a backbone so bad in this country, it’s unreal.

Go back to China you Vice, and bring your ill gotten investment money with you to improve the lives of your own people. Goodbye Xi Jinping

Slurp. Could get a yen for this, as they say in Scotland…

Also, scarlet for Eamonn and Vincent turning up to the Shannon Development event wearing the same suit and tie in pic 7…

Chameleon like I would venture re Leo.

Ya, It’s only you i’d say.

No I agree Angela, he looks like he is expecting it to savage him :)

Mary he isn’t Chinese I can almost 100% guarantee because his private life is fully exposed on his Facebook profile for all to see. He is obviously pro-Chinese as is his choice to be.

Mary, I’m Irish. I live in China. I have lived here for 5 and a half years. I am a proud member of the Irish diaspora. The astonishing ignorance of China, the Chinese people and the Chinese government displayed by a number of people on the comment section of journal.ie articles related to Xi Jinping’s visit in recent days appalls me and I am merely trying to tell people the truth about China and dispel their prejudice and ignorance of the place. My real name is Paul Carr.

I am not pro anything. I provide sources for my statements. I provide evidence for what I write. Please stop inferring that I wish to trade my Irish passport in for a Chinese one.

Last statement directed towards EMD.

Mary: Also, The chinese government doesn’t pay me anything. I don’t shill for anyone. I have my own viewpoints that I have developed as a consequence of objective research.

Paul, the only source I’ve ever seen you put up on the journal was a wikipedia entry. That’s a really cutting edge way of carrying out your objective independent research. Well done.

The truth is that you don’t want to hear anything negative about the Chinese government. Perhaps it’s because you have personal or business interests there. It doesn’t really matter, but what does matter is when excuses are made by people like you for blatant violations of the most basic civil and human rights. Saying human rights abuses take place in other countries doesn’t make it OK for them to happen in china.

Jamie: if I have given any false information then, by all means, point it out to me. I have already explained to you that I live in China, I have lived here for 5 and a half years. I have already explained that I do not work for the Chinese government. I do not shill for them or anyone else.

To quote you, Paul: ” I provide sources for my statements. I provide evidence for what I write.”

I’m pointing out that you don’t. You have opinions like everyone else here.

You meet any comment about human rights abuses in China with almost personal indignation. Your attitude of ‘well let the Chinese deal with it themselves’ is shockingly apathetic. The people whose rights are being violated are seeking international recognition of what is happening. The tone and content of your comments are explicitly pro-Chinese Government and in deflecting attention away from the well documented human rights abuses that take place in China, you are tacitly condoning them.

Once again, saying that human rights abuses take place elsewhere does not make it OK for them to take place in China.

Jamie: All my opinions are based on facts. If there are any facts that you think are wrong, by all means, point them out to me. Of course, I don’t automatically give my sources when I state a fact. No one else does in the comments section of journal.ie articles.

You’re right, Paul. You don’t have to provide footnotes for what you write on a discussion board. Why did you claim you do it then? Or was it just grandstanding?

I have already pointed out here and elsewhere where I think your opinions are incorrect. Most of the time you don’t address what has been said (as directly above).

What I meant, Jamie, was that I provide sources, if asked. Good heavens, Jamie, no one else on the comment section of journal.ie articles, as far as I can make out, automatically provides sources each and every time a fact is stated.

Are you even reading what I’m writing? I never said people have to provide footnotes for what they say here. You’re the one that claimed to provide ‘sources’ and ‘evidence’ for what you write, when clearly, you don’t.

You previously asked me to provide sources for my opinions so don’t come over all shocked. There’s a pattern of evasion in your posts. If it doesn’t suit you, then you change the subject.

Jamie: I provide sources for specific facts if people ask me politely. I did so already in a previous comment linked to this article. I did so in another comment for another Xi Jinping related article the other day too.

Jamie: When I wrote “I provide sources for my statements. I provide evidence for what I write.”, I was replying to EMD. He claimed I was pro-Chinese. I don’t think I am. If I was pro whatever, I would just spout whatever the man controlling my strings would want me to say without consideration and evaluation of facts. My opinions are based on researched facts. I’m sorry if you misunderstood.

He’s more partial to the Irish coffee. Had one already earlier. Down at the farm.

Great news!

Flippant comment, obviously you have a chip on your shoulder. I sense by your tweets you advocate the anarchist response of the Greeks, far better to face reality and deal with issues in a pragmatic way.

not 50, 450 years ago!

Tibet has been part of China since the Yuan dynasty in the 13th century. Chinese overlordship and rule continued under the Ming and Qing dynasties. After the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, China was divided amongst various warlords until 1927. Tibet also got independence at this time. The KMT reunited most of the country after 1927. Tibet remained outside KMT control. Civil war developed between the KMT and the Communists. Then the Japanese stepped up their invasion of China after 1931. After the defeat of Japan in 1945, civil war resumed between the KMT and the Communists. The KMT was expelled to Taiwan from mainland China by 1950. The Communist Red Army didn’t “invade” Tibet in 1950. They arrived. Many of the intellectual class and the oppressed peasantry welcomed them as they hoped that Beijing would relieve the tyranny of the Lamas and monks and introduce modernity. Under the monks and lamas, it was a brutal theocratic state.

take it easy paul, even me dont care what they are talking about my country. Just feel so funny when see a lot of irish people here talking CHINA’s problem so serious like china is a part of ireland. maybe in irish eyes, just like galway to dublin,lol.

BTW if you live in china, do you know ‘da jiang you’? that’s what im doing here. watch and feel funny.

Suotian Li: The Republic of Ireland is a deeply conservative country, even by the standards of Western Europe, with its deep reluctance to reform even in the face of necessity. We compensate by bitching about the alleged shortcomings of other countries. It’s a variation on the “not in my backyard” mentality.