By Dr. Mathew Maavak, a Malaysian expert on risk foresight and governance.
Upon the accession of Charles III as King of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms, questions have emerged over the continued relevance of the wider Commonwealth of Nations headed by the British monarch. The Commonwealth is a grouping of 56 nations, with a total combined population of 2.2 billion people. Among these nations, only Australia, New Zealand and Canada enjoy a special relationship with the UK, through the Five Eyes intelligence alliance (which also includes the United States).
Commonwealth membership benefits for the most part are pretty much nonexistent. This begs the question of why an aspiring superpower like India would demean itself by remaining in a colonially-defined international compact. A quick glance at the Commonwealth map will reveal a scattered morass of mediocrity, inequality and/or poverty.
Some may rebut this observation by citing Singapore as a stellar example of a successful ex-British colony. In that case, name one world-class product, scientist, intellectual, chess grandmaster, musician or writer from that nation? Or a comedian, for that matter? RT
The above is the introductory paragraphs of an article in RT. It asked an embarrassing question that daft fans of the British colonial Empire sheepily refuse to ask or to want to think about. The British monarch created this farce and they simply follow the pipe piper. After all they have been colonised and ruled by the Brits and it is second nature to take orders from the Brits, even in this stupid and humiliating organisation that continues to tell them that they were the conquered, colonised and ruled colonies of the British Empire. To the British this is something they are very proud of. To the colonised, if they are able to think, and have a little pride and dignity, being conquered, colonised and ruled by the British is a sad and shameful thing. Why still stupidly clinging to this shameful part of their history?
India, an aspiring world power, very proud of being independent, and was ruled the longest by the Brits, still unashamingly choose to remain in the Commonwealth that offers nothing to the ex colonies except to honour the British monarch and the British Empire and to acknowledge that they were once colonies, ruled people.
Where are the nationalists and proud people of independent countries to stand up and say this is a shameful scam, a deceitful myth to remind the colonised people of their demeaning fate in a time when the Brits made them subjects or servants/slaves of the British Empire, that they were conquered people and belonged to the Brits?
If India is worthy of an aspiring big power, it should be taking the lead to dump this shameful historical anachronism into the dustbin of history, never to be reminded again of its existence. What commonwealth when all the wealth went one way, to Britain?
What Common Wealth?
ReplyDeleteWhat wealth has/had the Commonwealth brought to the Commonwealth, except the one-way street to Britain?
From precious jewels to pure gold, from robbed, high jacked and stolen items to confiscated and smuggled items and from everything done through deceits and deceptions, all the ill-gotten and illegal wealth only went one way - from the other 55 countries to England - into the Queen's coffers, achieves and museums.
Unfortunately all the silly countries that were conquered, raped, plundered, ruled, and robbed, still so happy to be a member of this silly organisation set up to remind them that they were once invaded and their people slaves of an Empire. The Queen or King were their rulers.
ReplyDeleteThe Commonwealth is a congregation of proud subjects of the British Empire. Some still begging the British to rule them again. Somme dying for the association of the Royal families and eagering waiting to be knighted, to kneel in front of the Queen, now King.
It was so romantic to be ruled by kings and queens and got chance to admire princes and princesses.
Silly farks feeding the parasites of the Monarch or Mockery that spent their times in Adultery and Larceny and Scums.
DeleteSt had one banana laying flowers
These countries are so gullible. The British told them that the wealth of all the countries are common wealth of the British Empire. And none of them object to it.
ReplyDeleteRampant Dollar Threatens to Break China’s Tight Grip on the Yuan
ReplyDeleteAs the list of central banks intervening to protect their currencies against the surging dollar gets ever longer, one country is notable by its absence: China.
While the People’s Bank of China has plenty of tools it can use to defend its currency, it’s largely sitting on the sidelines despite the yuan’s decline to its weakest levels since the early days of the pandemic. The currency hasn’t been this close to the weak end of the fixing band since 2015.
The official rhetoric right now is all about respecting the market: Wang Chunying, a spokesperson for the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, told state television that short-term fluctuations are hard to forecast. A government-backed newspaper said Friday the yuan was trading within a “reasonable” range.
Yet pressures are building as global risk-off sentiment sweeps the market, due to the Federal Reserve’s battle against inflation and dramatic declines in key trading-partner currencies. The problem is, intervening outright -- as the likes of Japan, the Philippines and India have all done -- would be a big step for policymakers still bruised by a botched devaluation episode seven years ago. That makes it look like an orderly depreciation may be the best policy makers can hope for.
“You do see a perfect storm emerging,” said Peter Kinsella, global head of FX strategy at Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA in London. “I suspect another 4% move in the next 6 months would not be totally unreasonable.”
The most notable action the PBOC has taken so far is to publish stronger-than-estimated reference rates for the yuan in a record 22-day stretch. The yuan is still a managed currency so the central bank can dictate its direction with the fixing -- which restricts movement by 2% on either side -- and can drive up the cost of betting against it with derivatives. The PBOC recently slashed the amount of foreign currency banks must hold in reserve, which increases dollar liquidity onshore.
None of these measures has come across as forceful enough to suggest a line in the sand for China. The yuan is down almost 12% against the greenback this year and on track for a seventh straight month of declines -- the longest stretch since the height of Trump’s trade war in 2018. It broke past 7-per-dollar earlier this month without much drama, suggesting the historically key number lacks importance for policy makers and traders alike.
“In a strong dollar world, you don’t have many good options for PBOC to blow off steam,” said Leland Miller, co-founder of China Beige Book International, a provider of economic data.
Upping the ante and intervening directly would be a high-stakes decision. Memories are vivid of the devaluation episode seven years ago when it looked like China might get caught in a never-ending spiral of capital outflows and a weakening yuan. An estimated $1.7 trillion left the country in 2015 and 2016. Since then, China has closed some of the leakiest avenues for capital to leave the country while Covid Zero is also helping keep residents and their money onshore.
From a political standpoint, President Xi Jinping has little to gain from doing anything that risks adding drama to Chinese financial markets. His government has made stability a priority ahead of a twice-a-decade party congress in October at which he’s expected to secure a precedent-breaking third term in office.
And in what’s turning into an increasingly extreme risk-off global market environment, China has achieved subtle success in ensuring the yuan’s orderly depreciation against the dollar. There’s no sign of panic: a gauge measuring expected swings in the yuan and an indicator for bearish options are far below their peaks for the year, and never reached the levels seen in the aftermath of Beijing’s shock 2015 move.
“As long as two-way interest in the USD/CNY persists, it gives the PBOC some breathing room,” said Eugenia Fabon Victorino, the head of Asia strategy at SEB AB.
U.S. dollar strength continues as global central banks struggle to keep up with the Fed
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. dollar (DX-Y.NYB) screamed higher Friday after the British pound (GBPUSD=X) was whacked when British authorities introduced a new stimulus package consisting of fresh spending and tax cuts.
Issues in the U.K. are only the latest catalyst for the ascent of the mighty greenback, which is up more than 17% so far in 2022 — the largest year-to-date percentage gain since at least 1972.
Behind U.S. dollar strength is the Federal Reserve, which is steadfastly holding to its commitment to curb soaring price inflation. This past week it hiked its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points for the third straight meeting, the fastest clip since the U.S. suffered its last major bout with inflation in the early 1980s.
Other central banks are struggling to keep up with the Fed.
The Riksbank in Sweden surprised market participants Wednesday by hiking its benchmark rate 100 basis points. Swedish central bankers were hoping to lure investors to their bond market and strengthen their currency, the krona. Instead, the opposite occurred, as the dollar surged 3.5% into the end of the week.
Against the krona (SEK=X), the U.S. dollar has strengthened an astounding 25% year-to-date. That is the same level of U.S. dollar appreciation against the Japanese yen (JPY=X) — arguably the canary in the global currency coal mine.
Bank of Japan authorities recently intervened to strengthen the yen for the first time since the Asian currency crisis of 1998. The yen managed to rally a whopping 2.5% before giving back most of it by Friday afternoon.
Looking to emerging markets, the picture is even bleaker.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey — true to its unorthodox approach to monetary policy — cut its benchmark rate by 100 basis points on Wednesday. Unsurprisingly, the Turkish lira (TRY=X) sunk and ended the week on par with the Argentine peso (ARS=X) as the worst-performing currencies of the year. The dollar is up about 40% against both.
Overall, after a bunch of central bank moves last week, there was one common denominator whether the banks were hiking rates, cutting them, or standing pat: The dollar ended higher.
And while American tourists abroad may celebrate entire countries going "on sale," all sorts of investment vehicles — 401ks, institutional portfolios, corporate earnings, crypto holdings — are directly or indirectly feeling pain from of these gut-wrenching currency moves.
It's likely too late for most currency regimes — developed or otherwise — to avoid serious additional pain. At the same time, there are two of the currencies that have strengthened against the dollar in 2022: the Mexican peso (MXN=X) and the Brazilian real (BRL=X).
Notably, the central banks of these two emerging market countries began raising their rates in the first half of 2021 — long before their peers.
The exchange rate game is a game for the big countries. What are their strategies to push up and down versus inflation, higher interest, costly to export, cheaper to import, and the possibility of dedollarisation?
ReplyDeleteCountries holding a pile of Treasury notes would benefit from the appreciation of the dollar. The US would have to pay higher interest rate for their debt.
The movement are carefully managed in a dangerous monetary war. It is leading up to a big burst. Some would win big, some would lose big.
Some just love to be sodomised. The want to remember the sodomising of the past and still insist on saying thank you to the sodomiser.
ReplyDeleteWhat can we say? Can I just say it is stupidity without any cure?
Agreed man! We should demand that all the blondes there be conscripted to set e us as slaves for the din they have committed
DeleteWhenever the US Dollar goes up, it is the time for China to release her holdings of US treasury bills as well as to get rid of the excessive trade imbalances from the US.
ReplyDeleteThankfully, it comes across as mostly Africans are fast waking up. They are slowly distancing themselves from their colonial masters, who plundered their country, and left them in poverty stricken state.
ReplyDeleteThose African nations may mostly be classified as third world countries, but obviously have first world mentality leaders. This is unlike some first world countries with third world mental capacity and unable to tell right from wrong. That is all because of too much brainwashing that have dulled their grey matter. Like the animals in 'Animal Farm' indoctrinated with propaganda by the Pigs. Two legs bad, three legs good mantra is all they follow.
Now, the brainwashing of the war in Ukraine is so bias, it sickens the mind. Big bold headlines 'Invasion of Ukraine' seems a permanent fixture of Channel News America's effort to 'wash charcoal', highlighting all the good comments on Ukraine and Western side, and everything bad on the Russian side. Not one invited guest is not pro Ukraine. All spouting anti-Russia. Can this be true? When it comes to China's turn, the same will be on display, nothing more nothing less. Journalism at the bottom of the sewer.
Another very significant bias is in the reporting of protest over the world. Why no reports on the protest in Canada and UK? Not one squeak. Reports are all centred on protest in Russia, China, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Myanmar. Who does not know such protest are instigated by the CIA and NGOs, funded by the USA and the West.
One must know who is the one who directs Channel News America from behind the scenes.
ReplyDeleteBeing the mouthpiece of a certain country, it cannot simply publish things that are not meant for the public. It has to abide by certain unwritten and written rules. Otherwise, the reporter or journalist would lose his/her job in no time. This is the modus operandi.
That makes Channel News America nothing more than a propaganda channel. Oops, sorry for saying the obvious that most people already knew. Wonder what those newscasters are thinking being paid to spout propaganda day in and day out. Selective new reporting at it's best.
ReplyDeleteThink I saw that Roland Lim from HK also now as permanent Broadcaster for Sinkieland CN Americunt Station.
DeleteSmart smart prefered Sinkeland than the United Kaput.
The white men wrote the history books you read. They wrote that Colonialism was good. They came to civilise you, build infrastructures for you. What they built were actually to help them to control you and to exploit the wealth and resources of your country.
ReplyDeleteIn Singapore, they were only happy to educate the people to primary school or at most secondary school level, to be clerks. That was the highest level they would educate you.
That was the reason why the local Chinese chipped in to build Nantah, to provide tertiary education for their children.
Whatever goodness that came out of Colonism were incidental, not meant to be for the good of the locals and natives. The government administrative system was more developed because Singapore was the centre of the Far East Administration.
ReplyDeleteColonialism was a form of virus disease that has spread to all corners of the World by the Europeans. Their modus operandi was to invade, destroy and capture the natives and then made those who still remain as slaves to exploit the resources from the captured lands, so as to enrich the Monarchy.
In today's context, all the wealth amassed by the respective monarchies and governments are ill-gotten wealth that must be returned to the natives. Period..
The Commonwealth was created by thr British Queen Elizabeth II in order to prolong her control of the 55 countries that she had enslaved. Now that she is dead, the Commonwealth must be dissolved.
King Charles III has no right to prolong the agony of the 55 nations.
I envisage the imminent end of this nonsensical uncommon Commonwealth in the near future.
Actually the British have lost control over the colonies. Every colony can now walk out from the artificial meaningless Commonwealth. But the silly leaders chose to stay for what reasons, or is there any good reason, no one knows.
ReplyDeleteThe daft chose to be slaves, chose to worship the Brits. They have no self respect and dignity, no pride in wanting to be free and independent people. Still clinging onto the apron of the ex Queen. Now there is no apron in the King, what are they going to cling onto?
Slaves and their slave mentality would always be slaves. The colonial masters are always highly regarded by the slaves. They don't even know how to break free. It never occurs to them that they can break free and walk away from the silly Commonwealth.
One of the 55 countries is Singapore.
ReplyDeleteFrom the outpouring of sadness and lamentation, we can easily discern the deep-rooted heart-felt sentiments of the Top Political Leaders.
And worst of all was to fly half-mast and observing two minutes of silence in the Parliament, as if the dead Queen was one of our respected people.
No matter how one looks at it, this is a shame and disgrace to our country nonetheless.
The whole process and development only go to show that Singapore has never been independent. The so-called independence was only a facet put up to lull the masses.
Singapore is still very much in the grips of the Monarchy of the British Empire, for whatever reasons we do not know.