Comments on: And…here we go. Who needs the European Union when we can have China, with which we have SO much in common

By: AE

AE — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 08:50:08 +0000

If we really must strengthen cultural ties with the Far East then at least let it be Japan not tacky China.

By: Evarist Saliba

Evarist Saliba — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 21:06:00 +0000

In reply to H.P. Baxxter. I wrote about the operation of two instances of cultural cooperation. I do not see how either the terracotta army exhibition or the garden in Santa Lucia could be described as anything but harmless. The fact that China provided all the input in setting up the garden does not render it harmful, unless you are aware that there are some hidden explosives or spying devices there.

By: ciccio

ciccio — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 22:20:28 +0000

I get a sense that we are going to have our own 10 years of Cultural Revolution. We already have our own version of Mao Zedong leading the government.

Mintoff – himself a keen fan of Mao – must be happy admiring his “orphan” as he leads us to the totalitarian state which Mintoff would himself have created were it not for the result of the 1981 elections.

By: ken il malti

ken il malti — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 20:21:07 +0000

In reply to Maria. You can bet that not too many boat people will come to Malta's shores as soon as they get wind of the chance that Malta might opt out of the EU and cuddle up to the Chinese.

By: Stephen Borg Fiteni

Stephen Borg Fiteni — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 19:42:33 +0000

In reply to observer. Exactly. It seems very likely that that will happen, which would be my worst nightmare.

By: H.P. Baxxter

H.P. Baxxter — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 19:31:48 +0000

In reply to Evarist Saliba.

The garden in Santa Lucia was not “cooperation”. Not in any way, shape or form. The whole thing was shipped to Malta lock, stock and barrel and built by Chinese workers under the direction of Chinese supervisors using Chinese tools and Chinese materials, all under Chinese Aid To Developing Countries.

How is that “cooperation”?

And developing country? Malta?

The PN government merely perpetuated what Joseph Muscat calls “ninzel gharkubtejja”, probably thinking it was just a harmless garden.

You, as a former diplomat, should know that it sends a different message altogether – that China has a free run of Malta, and that Malta is a poor little nation, feeding from China’s benevolent hand.

Now we can all see what we’ve come to.

By: ken il malti

ken il malti — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 19:19:37 +0000

In reply to il-Ginger. Insulated and centrally heated houses are a lot more comfortable to be in at winter time than being in a typical Maltese house in Malta in winter, even if the temperature is 30 degrees below zero C outside in these northern countries.

By: Evarist Saliba

Evarist Saliba — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 18:00:10 +0000

As Malta’s former (non-resident) ambassador to China I confirm what Li Ching Chao has said. One of the most outstanding cultural cooperation activities was the exhibition of the terracotta army when it came to Europe. The garden in Santa Lucia was another. All this was under a PN government.

I ask, what is new under this latest agreement?

Let us keep cultural agreement to what it has been so far.

By: H.P. Baxxter

H.P. Baxxter — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:48:20 +0000

In reply to il-Ginger. They are nothing to the Maltese Winter of Discontent.

By: H.P. Baxxter

H.P. Baxxter — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:47:33 +0000

In reply to Harry Purdie. I don't think UK citizenship is possible in this case. It cannot be passed on to your grandchildren unless they were born in the UK.