The Americans have been waving the flag of predatory lending and debt traps to attack China's investment and infrastructure building in the BRI Project. Predatory loans or lending as defined by Investopedia is 'Predatory lending imposes unfair, deceptive, or abusive loan terms on a
borrower.' And many states, including those states that joined the BRI, have their own anti-predatory lending laws.' How valid is this American allegation or white lie on debt trap and predatory lending against China?
Most of the countries that have infrastructure building agreements with China are poor countries, many victims of western Imperialism and Colonialism. The white men came, robbed them of their wealth and left them to do with whatever that was left of their countries, or not to do and live or die in perpetual poverty. Nearly a hundred years after the white imperialists and colonialists have left the colonised countries, many of these countries are still struggling to make ends meet and need money, technology to rebuild their economies, infrastructure and countries. The countries that should be doing this, for free, should be the former invaders, the imperialists and colonial masters that enriched themselves from the loots of these countries. But no, they would not do anything. They would not even provide loans with strings attached unless these countries could pay back.
This is an impossible dream to these poor countries. Who could they turn to for money and technology? Who could provide them with cheap loans to rebuild their infrastructure, to raise the standard of living of their people and to revive their economies? Not the West, not the white men, not the imperialists and colonial masters.
China was also a victim of the white scourge, having been invaded by the white men through wars, and nearly colonised. China had to pay war reparations and indemnities that resulted in bankrupting the whole country. The whites came, started a war, invaded and semi colonised China and made China pay for their war expenses and damages and compensation for their war effort. This is the rule of the white imperialists and colonialists.
China has recovered from the ravages of white imperialism and colonialism and has extended a helping hand to the poor countries of the world, the victims of white imperialists and colonialists. China would help them with cheap loans and the technology to rebuild their countries. What is so wrong and so bad about these? China did not invade these countries, did not march in with guns and point at their heads to sign these infrastructure rebuilding projects. China went in to offer what China could do at a price they agreed, cheaper than the loans the white men would offer at high interest rates and strings attached.
The leaders of these countries have limited choices. Continue to live in their underdeveloped countries forever, with no money, no technology, they could not rebuild themselves. China offers them hope and they could negotiate on what they want, what they need, at a mutually agreeable price and terms. They have no money, but some have resources and raw material for exchange. Some could rent out their land and become rentiers like Djibouti. Whatever, the final terms of repayment are signed after tough negotiations and bargaining and agreed by both parties. These countries would have to work out the sums, what they could afford to have from their lists of wants and what they could afford to pay from their resources or national income. Period.
China and these countries signed economic, trade and infrastructure agreements on the basis of equality with both sides putting their negotiators to work out the deals. Unlike the days of imperialism and colonialism when the white men just marched in and took everything, yes everything, with their guns. Any resistance or objection would lead to massacres and mass imprisonment.
How bad and how false were the white men's allegations and lies about debt traps and predatory lending? These, when compared to imperialism and colonialism, were like being invited to a free party with food and booze. Imperialism and colonialism were banditry, daylight robbery, peppered with killings, massacres and slavery of the natives. Now the evil white men are calling a business contract signed by two willing partners, negotiated without duress, as bad, as cheating, as unfair.
Who were the unfair cheats? Who were the robbers, the murderers, the rapists of countries and nations? Who impoverished these countries, robbed them of their national wealth and now crying crocodile tears to want to defend them and their wealth, if any was still left for them?
Stop the white lies and repent and cough out whatever you robbed from these poor countries. Go and rebuild these countries for free! Yes, you owed it to them. You white invaders and warmongers also owe it to China, to repay the war debt, war reparation, war compensation and indemnities paid for invading China and other countries. This debt must be repaid one day, with interest for more than 150 years, and the amount marked to present value.
This is the white debt the West, the imperialists and colonial masters owed to the rest of the world. Stop your hypocrisy and start paying back in kind and in kindness. Stop your wars of destruction, stop killing the Muslims and Arabs NOW. Stop all your abusive sanctions against other countries and let them move out of poverty. And stop spreading more white lies.
America is not a democracy but a dictatorship run by gangsters and warmongers, by liars and cheats. There is no equality and human rights as preached by white men speaking in fork tongues. Equal rights and human rights are only for the white men, not for the blacks, not for the Latinos, Asians and coloured people. Stop the lies, stop the deceit. Look at the mirror, peel off your masks of white supremacy and white dominance.
No one is going to believe in your white lies and hypocrisies anymore. See the real devil in you, the white men, the trouble makers, the murderers, the devils in disguise!
Photo credit to Google
The
foreign talent program started since 1980s have imported more than 3M
foreigners into Singapore and converted about 1.5M largely
from Malaysia, India and regional neighbours. The government has
further endorsed their foreign talent program by using a new Singapore
from Indonesia to sing our NDP. Whether the new Singaporean served NS
or not, this is beside the point, the govt’s underlying intent is
quite clear, the foreign talent program will continue and they will
import and convert. I believe Singapore population will breach 6M before
2025 and heading towards 6.9M. As you can see, Hyflux’s was told to
prepare for 8M.