Anything for a Euro
Well it seems Germany is going to sign off on a sale by Siemens of a German plutonium facility to China.
DW Link
Expatica Link
Spacewar Link
I am just not sure of the wisdom of this sale.
Fellowship
DW Link
Quote:
Schroeder, who is visiting China, told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Monday that Berlin would push for lifting a European Union embargo on arms sales to China imposed after the 1989 massacre of pro- democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Germany is the second major EU country, after France, to urge the lifting of the embargo.
Schroeder, who is visiting China, told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Monday that Berlin would push for lifting a European Union embargo on arms sales to China imposed after the 1989 massacre of pro- democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Germany is the second major EU country, after France, to urge the lifting of the embargo.
Quote:
"It doesn't look as if there is anything which would speak against this," said Schroeder. The German government has been considering the sale since October.
"It doesn't look as if there is anything which would speak against this," said Schroeder. The German government has been considering the sale since October.
Expatica Link
Quote:
A proposal by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to resume arms sales to China has touched off a furious across-the-board debate in the political class, the daily Die Welt said in editions scheduled to appear Wednesday.
"I'm not going to play that game," Christa Nickels, the chairwoman of the parliamentary human rights commission, was quoted as saying.
In a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in China on Monday, Schroeder indicated he will work towards lifting the European Union embargo against arms sales to China, a German government spokesman said.
That would make Germany the second major European country after France to encourage the lifting of the ban, which was imposed in 1989 after the violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Nickels said Shroeder's promise was, besides being unnecessary, "an error, not only because of the human rights situation in China but also because of the tense situation between China and Taiwan."
The foreign affairs spokesman for the opposition Christian Democrats, Friedbertg Pflueger, criticized an initiative he said had been taken "without consulting the European Union."
Even within the governing majority, Schroder's remarks have stirred up dissension. Wolfgang Gerhardt, leader of the Liberal party parliamentary group, said "it is the wrong time, in view of Chinese threats against Taiwan, to be opening the way to a lifting of the European arms embargo. Germany should not be playing a prominent role in this domain."
Schroeder's own socialist party remained discreet about the arms sale proposal, but some members have criticized another of the chancellor's promises -- to support a bid by the Siemens corporation to export a nuclear reprocessing plant to China.
A proposal by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to resume arms sales to China has touched off a furious across-the-board debate in the political class, the daily Die Welt said in editions scheduled to appear Wednesday.
"I'm not going to play that game," Christa Nickels, the chairwoman of the parliamentary human rights commission, was quoted as saying.
In a meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in China on Monday, Schroeder indicated he will work towards lifting the European Union embargo against arms sales to China, a German government spokesman said.
That would make Germany the second major European country after France to encourage the lifting of the ban, which was imposed in 1989 after the violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Nickels said Shroeder's promise was, besides being unnecessary, "an error, not only because of the human rights situation in China but also because of the tense situation between China and Taiwan."
The foreign affairs spokesman for the opposition Christian Democrats, Friedbertg Pflueger, criticized an initiative he said had been taken "without consulting the European Union."
Even within the governing majority, Schroder's remarks have stirred up dissension. Wolfgang Gerhardt, leader of the Liberal party parliamentary group, said "it is the wrong time, in view of Chinese threats against Taiwan, to be opening the way to a lifting of the European arms embargo. Germany should not be playing a prominent role in this domain."
Schroeder's own socialist party remained discreet about the arms sale proposal, but some members have criticized another of the chancellor's promises -- to support a bid by the Siemens corporation to export a nuclear reprocessing plant to China.
Spacewar Link
I am just not sure of the wisdom of this sale.
Fellowship
Comments
Originally posted by FellowshipChurch iBook
Well it seems Germany is going to sign off on a sale by Siemens of a German plutonium facility to China.
I am just not sure of the wisdom of this sale.
Attention, you are siding with the leftist Green party here
Basically, the problem is the MOX facility is privately owned (by Siemens). It was mothballed by the state years ago, but it nevertheless does not belong to the state. Siemens applied for sale and export to China and it seems there is little in applicable law to prevent the deal.
It is causing a medium-sized government crisis over here, though.
Why anyone in the West - liberal or conservative - has a soft spot in their hearts for the current Chinese regime is entirely beyond me.
Edit: I forgot to mention that Canada has also been supplier of reactor technology to the Chinese and has generally been cozying up to the current regime on trade issues. Shame on us as well.