Japan Times - "China may long regret miserly typhoon aid offer"

[TomCADem]

I guess the message China is trying to say is that if you cross us, then you are dead to us. But, this will ultimately backfire, since folks will tend to remember who their friends were during a time of need.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/11/17/commentary/china-may-long-regret-miserly-typhoon-aid-offer/#.Uokbl53Tl9A

As hundreds of thousands of Filipinos struggled to find food, water, shelter and the bodies of loved ones in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan, China quickly dipped into its world-leading $3.7 trillion of currency reserves and came up with … all of $100,000.

That was Beijing’s first miserly offer of aid to the storm-tossed Philippines. By Thursday, an international outcry over China’s stinginess shamed it into upping its pledge to a modest $1.6 million worth of relief materials such as tents and blankets. But the damage was already done.

“It’s very hard to call for de-Americanization and then leave your wallet at home when there’s a human disaster the scale of the typhoon in the Philippines,” says Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group in New York. “Yes, China is a poor country. Yes, they have troubled relations with the Philippines. But this sits badly with anyone thinking about China’s rise in the region.” If he were advising President Xi Jinping, Bremmer says, “I’d push for major humanitarian aid to the Philippines.”

Instead the bulk of that aid is coming from elsewhere: more than $28 million from Australia, $20 million from the United States, $17 million from the European Union, $16 million from the United Kingdom, $10 million from Japan, $5 million from South Korea, $4 million from the Vatican, $2 million from Indonesia, and huge amounts from official agencies — the United Nations alone started a $300 million aid appeal.

[jsr]

1. Yep, the ruling class of the "poor country" China is sitting on $3.7 TRILLION of cold hard cash

with cold hearts to match.

[Berlum]

2. Republicon "Family Values" - ChinaStyle

[Demo_Chris]

3. Where are WE getting the 20 mil we pledged to spend?

We apparently cannot be bothered to feed our own kids.

[TomCADem]

4. That's What Republicans Said When They Voted Again Disaster Relief...

...my take is that disaster relief is a lot better than military aid to the ruling government.

[russspeakeasy]

5. +1

[Demo_Chris]

7. I am not in favor of military aid to anyone. Again...

We apparently cannot manage to take care of ourselves but we are sending money overseas to take care of other people. How does this make sense?

We have tens of millions of people in this country living in poverty. Real poverty. Kids with no food, kids living in cars, kids without coats and winter coming on, kids whos only meal will be their school lunch. And we're sending millions overseas?

[TomCADem]

8. Short Sighted View To Turn Your Back On Philippines

Assuming you do not aid the Philippines, several things are likely to occur.

First, thousands more will die in a growing humanitarian disaster. We talk about the U.S.'s failure to respond to a genocide in war torn countries, but here the U.S. would be ignoring the needs of an ally.

Second, the U.S. would lose influence in Asia and further cede its influence in Asia. China took advantage of President Obama's absence during the government shutdown. Well, China's absence will likely limit its influence, because Asian counties will know that they simply cannot count on China in a crisis.

Third, Philippine Americans are the second largest Asian American ethnic group in the United States. If President Obama does not offer assistance to the Philippines, Republicans will happily point this out. Remember that during the 2012 elections, Asian Pacific Americans were a key voting bloc that turned out for Democrats. A majority of them are first generation with strong familial ties to their native countries.

Fourth, the argument that poverty exists in our country, thus we should not due ____, can be used for environmental regulations, financial reforms, you name it, You can simply say how can we afford __ while people are poor in the U.S. Of course, the fact of the matter is that this does not stop Republicans from cutting food stamps while demanding increase military funding, so its a false dichotomy that we should not buy into.

[Demo_Chris]

12. I know. I know...

I am actually in favor of aiding our friends there, it just hurts that we are simultaniously ignoring the problem here.

[Buns_of_Fire]

9. The money's there. republicans just have "other priorities" for spending it.

$20 million isn't even a portion of a drop in the bucket, not with almost 48 million people receiving SNAP benefits ( http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/29snapcurrpp.htm ). republicans would just rather make sure that that money goes to the almighty "job creators" than to people who NEED it.

[malaise]

10. Well for starters your army is back in the Philippines

which was not wanted - and I'm betting they won't be leaving for a long time/

Look for a new base. Nothing is ever given for free - ask the poor Haitians.

[dipsydoodle]

6. In the UK the public have donated £33 million

in addition to £30 million from the UK government.

[hatrack]

11. $100,000? WAY beyond pathetic . . . .

Clueless and cheap.

What is that, anyway - one or two planeloads of supplies and the costs of the charter?