FIRT SORRY ABOUT THIS LONG POST
As a westerner currently living in China, I am still amazed by the self-centred hatred some, luckily a small minority, of people harbour to the past injustices that the "west" imposed on China. Yes it’s important to look back at history and not forget the past. For example I'm British did you know that concentration camps were not invented by the Germans for us against the Jews? They were invented by the British for use against the Boar in the Boar wars in South Africa in the 1900's. What some people in China need to remember is every country has done bad things in the past and it is not something to be ashamed of, look at them as something you can learn from. I always have to have conversations with Chinese people about the opium wars and how bad Britain was, yet no Chinese person will talk about when the Chinese invaded Vietnam in the 1970's or when it sent troops to fight against a multi-national force under United Nation's command in Korea and I could probably make a list of other shameful things, just as I could make a list of Shameful British or western history. So come on guys, it’s a new century, don't talk about Chinese people thinking westerners are superior because it’s simply not true and any of this anti-western hatred seems to come from uneducated Chinese with small social circles who have never seen the world. China and it's people are great, just as I think Britain and its people are great, but we are both far from perfect AND remember there is always two sides to every story.........including the opium wars and the burning of the summer palace etc.
And I quote from RENMIN “like I said the opium war was to weaken the Chinese with drugs make them lazy and tired every day, then come in and take them out.â€
Sorry but I have never heard so much Crap in my life. The war was simply about money and trade, not so we could weaken you to invade, most of the contact between China and the west between 1700-1900 was about trade. Due to the Cohong that the Chinese emperor set up (to basically make money for the emperor) there was quickly a large imbalance of trade. The British through the east India company sent James Flint, a Chinese speaking trader (note the Chinese government of the time had band traders from learning Chinese so the government could control trade and change tariffs) to complain about restrictions in incoming trade and corruption in the Cohong. He was imprisoned for presenting petitions from Chinese nationals who wanted to trade freely, learning Chinese and sailing to a port in northern China. The British then sent another representative, Lord Macartney to try set up permanent diplomatic relations in Beijing and allow fixed tariffs and more inward trade. He was refused.
Due to the now large trade imbalance, we British loved our tea, Britain through the East India Company sold large amounts of Opium to CHINESE traders (although licensed by Britain) in INDIA, who then shipped it to Chinese smugglers in S.China.
In 1838 A Chinese official , Lin Zexu, was sent by the emperor to India to ask the British to stop the trade, also in this time a letter was sent to Queen Victoria asking her to stop the trade, the letter was ignored by Britain. During negotiations, partly because he was not taken seriously he took 350 foreigners hostage, including the British Superintendent of the area ( Charles Elliot)- which as you could imagine somewhat angered the British. Anyway it was agreed that all opium trade was to be stopped and the hostages released. Which would have been a good end to the whole process. However in 1839 the Qing Dynasty ordered all British to leave Guangzhou (the only treaty/trading port in china for foreigners) and terminated trade between China and Britain. Britain then sent forces, and only British forces were involved at this time, to force the Chinese government to resume trade. The out come of this conflict was equal relations between Britain and china; four more ports open to foreign trade, abolition of the Cohong and unfair import tariffs and the surrender of HK in perpetuity.- I'm not saying that is fair, but it is truth.
) in among our few US members who remembers that politics arent allowed in here... Please enjoy whit us and remember to read the rules, introduce in itroduction thread and bal bla bla...
