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| Reluctant Hero |
Hsylop Urged To Postpone Chinese Triphttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7301059.stmMSP urged to postpone China trip Education secretary Fiona Hyslop has come under pressure to cancel a planned ministerial trip to China in light of the unrest in Tibet. Lib Dem MSP Tavish Scott said Ms Hyslop should abandon plans for the visit until the crisis there is resolved. However, a Scottish Government spokeswoman said Ms Hyslop still intended to make her trip, which concerns educational matters. The most recent protests broke out in Tibet last Monday. Buddhist monks, then other Tibetans, took to the streets to mark the 49th anniversary of the 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. We cannot turn a blind eye while pro-democracy campaigners are being brutally attacked by government forces Tavish Scott MSP Human rights observers have condemned the violence used by authorities to crack down on protestors. The Tibetan government in exile said 80 protestors had been killed in the capital, Lhasa, in the last week. Mr Scott, who described the situation as "distressing" has written to the minister, asking her to reconsider in order to send a signal to the Chinese government. He said: "These are not normal times and normal plans cannot just go ahead. "I urge Fiona Hyslop to make a stand and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. "It cannot be right for the international community to go as if nothing is happening. We cannot turn a blind eye while pro-democracy campaigners are being brutally attacked by government forces." 'Serious concerns' Ms Hyslop announced the plans for her visit earlier this month, claiming she wanted to build on educational and research links between Scotland and China. A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government confirmed Ms Hyslop planned to visit China from April 5-12. "The Scottish Government has worked to develop a relationship with China in recent times since the publication of our first China Plan," she said. Though she said the government had serious concerns about human rights in Tibet, it believed it was better to engage with authorities rather than boycott China. "The Scottish Government stresses human rights concerns in all meetings with the Chinese authorities, and intends to continue doing so in relation to the cabinet secretary's engagements next month," she added. |
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| Morph |
I can see the Governments point of view. Althought the situation in Chani regarding Tibet is far from Democratic or fair it would be easier to get your point heard in China that boycotting the country then trying to sway its domestic policy. | ||
| skip |
Whether she goes or stays at home the Chinese authorities will be hell-bent on doing their own thing. The education people she is going to meet are unlikely to hold any sway on the constitutional politics of china so i don't see why their joint aims on education and research should be affected.
I think boycotts can have their uses but it depends on the individuals or groups who carry them out. steven speilberg recently quit his post as film director of the bejieng olympics to draw attention to human rights abuses. even a man of his status only succeeded in embarassing the chinese for about 24hrs until the storm blew over. hyslop's postponement would only fly under the radar of most of the media. i think she should go and do her job. the uk and scottish governments should, of course, draw attention to its key concerns and lobby for change. |
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| Economist |
Has Tavish Scott not got anything better to do? | ||
| Aventinian |
Unfortunately not; and the taxpayer pays him fairly well to do what he presently does. |
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