~ Viti ny Y Birnie. 282 4 ~ Wednesday, Jane-#4, 1989.-. North Shore-News — . | THE CHINESE Communist warlords have shown their true : colors. In the crunch, they turned out to be smail-scale Pol Might is right. Power rolis out sifs of the barrel of a gun. Rule by y armed force, not law. : ’ For 1,000 years, China has been trapped in one rigid power struc- ture or another. The art of military planning had its beginnings in ancient China, and so, unfortunately, did the art of bureaucratic rule. We use the old Chinese word, mandarin, to describe our own civil servicé elite, who, like their oriental forerunners, have discovered a way to control the country without appearing to be in charge. ‘ Marry a millenium-old skill at warfare with an equally-ancient knowledge of how to run a self- perpetuating heirarchy, and you have the modern Chinese Com- munist Party. When the Last Emperor was replaced by a committee, power Pots, mirror images of their allies in Kampuchea. changed hands at the very top, but everything underneath stayed the same. Monarchy, oligarchy — what difference does it make so far as the broad masses are concern- ed? When Communist troops laughingly slaughtered maybe thousands of students in Tiananmen Square, the realpolitik snapped i :to focus: China is run by a gang, a mafiosa, a Cosa Nostra. Can you imagine how Canadians would react if Brian Mulroney sent tanks into the streets to crush peaceful protesters? (To tell you the truth, I have no idea how they would react. What would I do myself?) In the wake of the massacre in Beijing, some wild and crazy ideas surfaced in the media. There was talk in Britain, for in- stance, of forcing countries like - NOW OPEN |, THE CUISINE OF AN EMPIRE Prepared for an emperor's palate. Presented in white-gloved, continental style, Destined to become world famous. 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One’s imagination can run through any number of scenarios with the idea of a mass exodus of Hong Kong Chinese to the jungles of Brazil. Boy, are the Indians down there going to be unhappy! And how about Brazil’s land- hungry peasants who are being push::d out of the big cities by star ation? Or the ranchers who are Lurning the rainforest down to make way for short-term cattle grazing to meet the demands of the mostly-North American fast-food industry? Yes let’s peek at that thought again. The Hong Kong Chinese in Brazil...Would the rainforest be levelled in a minute? With their acumen in matters of real estate, wouldn’t the Hong Kong Chinese turn the Amazon Basin into a parking lot virtually overnight? Well, actually, they would probably save the rainforest. After being cooped up on Hong Kong for two generations, they would fan out into the jungles and prob- ably start developing con- dominiums. They’d want to keep that fabu- lous wilderness setting in order to attract overseas customers. Mighty banks would rise in futuristic architectural splendor above the jungles. a ee W en Communist troops laughingly slaughtered maybe thousands of students in Tiananmen Square, the real- politik snapped into focus: China is run by a gang, a mafiosa, a Cosa Nostra.’’ Resorts, hotels and spas would appear among the vines and farms. High-tech manufacturing plants would spring up beside jungle streams. Brazil’s gross national product would begin to climb, and eventually it would rocket. With all its resources and the famous energetic entrepreneurship of the Hong Kong Chinese at its disposal, Brazil could easily become one of the richest countries in the world. When you depend on your tires, depend on Michelin. 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The abandonment of the Hong Kong Chinese by the British is one of the last sad chapters in the his- tory of a rapacious empire which had still not quite shrunk back to its natural confines. . To throw the refugees in Hong Kong to the Communist wolves on mainland China, as Britain intends to do, is as cowardly an act as the Treaty of Munich, and as unlikely in the end to appease the dictators in China any more than Hitler was ever appeased @ Price is just the beginning. Castrol XLR Motor Oil Protect your engine from wear and tear with Castrol XLR motor oil. Choose from 10W30, 10W40, 20W50 or 2W30 grades. 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