Hi AC,

" .... Incorporating West Papua into PNG seems to be the best option these people can hope for. .... "

Yes ! And their 'best friend' in that initiative would eventually have to be Australia. Politics is a difficult game.

Joe

"Politics is a difficult game" too true Joe.

Trumps outgoing secretary of state Mike Pompeo urged Australia to rightly condemn China for human rights violations against Uighurs in Xinjiang, and there is no doubt China is guilty of such crimes. At a time when Trump was courting Xi Jinping he was reported as telling the dictator that the concentrations camps for Uighurs was “exactly the right thing to do”. Pompeo was being just a little hypocritical in not calling out human rights violations within the US directed against Native Americans, Blacks and Hispanics, or the human rights violations committed by American allies such as Israel and Saudi Arabia. Australia should also be a little bit less hypocritical as well, and more universal in calling out such abuse.

When is a terrorist a freedom fighter, when he's on your side.

Hi Paul,

Yes, you're right on all counts in relation to Pompeo. China does seem to have a policy of eventually exterminating the Uighurs and other Turkic/Mongol groups in Xinjiang.

Joe

Hi Joe,

Agree, "China does seem to have a policy of eventually exterminating the Uighurs and other Turkic/Mongol groups in Xinjiang." Can't help but think China used Western Anti-Muslim sentiment as "justification" for moving against the Uighur "terrorists". The Tibetan's could be next, with an unpopular religion. Any thoughts?

A message from the Big Xi:

"Ni hao, chop, chop Australia. You now China!"

Hi Paul,

Yes, eventually all minorities, I suspect. And there are maybe 200 million people from minority ethnic groups in China, where they have gradually been pushed (mostly) south and west by the majority Hans over the past two thousand years and their land taken.

China has had, after all, an imperialist regime since, well, always, really - certainly since the 500-Year War period up to about the time of Christ. In recent times, it has had hostile relations up to outright war with many of its neighbours; even Laos:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93Laos_relations

So yes, some sort of aggressive acts are always on the cards with China. But there is a lot of land and sea for it to get across before its armies reach Australia. But 'be prepared' !

Joe