Does this mean that Chinese is set to become an entry requirement for University?

When does it start being taught in schools?

P.S. and by the way where is the Deputy PM as we have heard more about Mallia, Farrugia and Mercieca than about what the Deputy PM is doing.

Isn’t he the one who is supposed to be ensuring that all the manifesto is implemented? Shouldn’t he have been at the 100 days press conference telling us how much of that manifesto they have started working on?

Maryann, of course Zarb does not open his mouth, when one of the main factories to move to a cheap labour location was Bortex, owned by the husband of Ramona Frendo and whose Chairman is no other than Lino Spiteri.

There was a programme on CNN about a couple of weeks ago which highlighted the fact that China is buying large blocks of apartments in some countries in the West in order to accommodate its huge population.

No Gahan, no need to do that. Wherever the Chinese go they take all the supplies that are needed to be self sufficient. Food, pre fab accommodation, doctors you name it. In other words the local economy doesn’t benefit at all. If anything it loses by having its finite natural resources plundered in return for a pittance and some grandiose edifice for a despot/dictator/corrupt regime.

Your ‘contribution’ is shyte. You should join the nudge-nudge brigade over at Vivamalta.

Cannot say more at this stage, sorry. You have enough hints in my contribution. I’m not arguing the fact that even the PN kept a relationship with the Chinese, but this is different.

[Daphne – You don’t have to ‘hint’ at the fact that the Energy Minister has a Chinese wife. It’s not as though that isn’t immediately obvious. There are many, many millions of Chinese. It’s not like Malta. So let’s not jump to conclusions on this basis.]

My impression is that the amount loaned to Mintoff’s Malta was to be repaid after 25 years – only, however, on condition that the money received back by China at the end of the period would buy the same weight of gold that the loan could have bought when it was originally made (i.e. 25 years earlier).

One may well imagine by how much the price of gold had increased between the loan agreement and the eventual repayment.

I presume there are still people around who know what actually happened at the time.

Perhaps I wasn’t clear.

I said that the Chinese were involved all along, even under the PN government. Now they’ve just stepped up their activity a notch or two. Malta has been, since 1972, China’s vassal state in the Med. If the previous government saw fit to fawn in gratitude at Chinese stocking-fillers, should we expect this government, the heirs of Mintoff, to cold-shoulder the Chinese?

The previous administration also had its China connection and no mistake. But we were all too caught up in the Xarabank nonsense to notice it.