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BigBlackEquus
Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Location: Lotte controls Asia with bad chocolate!
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 7:37 am Post subject: South Korean rice farmers attack WTO in Hong Kong |
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Looks like they make enough money to fly down their in large numbers. Maybe it is time for a change in how much they are allowed to charge for rice?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,179023,00.html |
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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 8:42 pm Post subject: |
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They look ridiculous actually. A lot of farmers from a well-off country demanding unrealistic protection of their income, while people in desperately poor third world countries are struggling to get the most basic of fair trade terms.
Makes Koreans look like a lot of spoiled brats when it comes to their one-way selfish trade policies. |
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Wangja

Joined: 17 May 2004 Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 8:51 pm Post subject: |
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Ker-iste, hand me the valium: I find myself agreeing with Rapier.
Or maybe (hope?) he's regained his former logic.
Edit: test word deleted.
Last edited by Wangja on Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:21 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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peppermint

Joined: 13 May 2003 Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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Hell, I was reading the lonely planet forums this morning and people were asking if it was safe to go to HK because of the barbarian ( Korean) hordes |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: |
A lot of farmers from a well-off country demanding unrealistic protection of their income |
How do you describe French farmers? |
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Pligganease

Joined: 14 Sep 2004 Location: The deep south...
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:35 pm Post subject: |
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Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
How do you describe French farmers? |
Smelly. |
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riley
Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Location: where creditors can find me
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 10:31 pm Post subject: |
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Pligganese wrote:
Quote: |
Ya-ta Boy wrote:
How do you describe French farmers?
Smelly. |
Bing!
And we have a winner! |
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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 8:38 pm Post subject: |
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Predictably, they have it in for Bushie:
Korean Activists Deface U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- South Korean activists sprayed slogans outside the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong and stormed a building housing their own diplomatic envoy to protest a meeting of World Trade Organization ministers in the Chinese city.
About 50 South Korean militant unionists sprayed ``No Bush'' and ``Down WTO'' in red paint and pulled letters off the wall of the U.S. consulate in the business district of Hong Kong.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=amEUvQ2kFlyk&refer=asia
-What is interesting now is that the Chinese have taken a hard line on the 900 Korean activists they have rounded up, promising to prosecute them where there is enough evidence, while the Koreans are demanding their immediate release. Haha, you have to agree its a bit amusing. Apparently the Chinese have come in for criticism for acting too harshly with them as protesters at earlier WTO meetings in other countries had been far more violent, yet let off relatively lightly.
SKorea seeks early release of farmers held in Hong Kong
http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2005/12/18/afx2399919.html |
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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:03 pm Post subject: |
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Soon Korean farmers will have to compete in the real world of trade, on a level playing field. Great.
Oh btw some images of former Korean farmer protests, just out of interest.
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:05 pm Post subject: |
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From this morning's Chosun Ilbo:
Hong Kong Lets Korean Rioters Off With a Caution
Some 838 Korean anti-globalization protesters arrested in violent protests against the WTO Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong were let off with a caution on Monday afternoon. Twelve people remain in custody while police investigate whether they instigated the violence.
Vice Foreign Minister Lee Kyu-hyung arrived in Hong Kong on Monday and met with the territory��s top interior official and the chief of police. He apologized for the violent protests and asked authorities for lenience. The Hong Kong officials reportedly told him the matter would be dealt with judicially. The ministry said Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon plans to call Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang.
Meanwhile, a Foreign Ministry official said Hong Kong in all detained 1,001 Korean protestors, a lot more than the 600 or so reported a day earlier. The 151 women among them were released on Sunday night. The remaining 12 are likely to be indicted. |
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bucheon bum
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:17 pm Post subject: |
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I can't decide which is worse: to come out and fight like the Koreans or to push your politicians to resist as much as possible, like the Japanese farmers do. Pretty self-centered and completely impractical for their nations as well as the world. |
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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 3:14 am Post subject: |
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bucheon bum wrote: |
I can't decide which is worse: to come out and fight like the Koreans or to push your politicians to resist as much as possible, like the Japanese farmers do. Pretty self-centered and completely impractical for their nations as well as the world. |
Combine male dominated testosterone-fuelled society with the psychopathic belief that all your problems are caused by someone else, and you have a recipe for violent, unreasoning, nationalist-based protest when Korea is exposed to the rest of the world in any way. |
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edgellskiuk
Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 4:00 am Post subject: |
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On the Hong Kong news they just had some Korean representative on saying if they do not release the 11 koreans, lots more protesters will come to protest. Surely just apologising and not then threatening the local goverment would be more effective or am I mad.
And then some korean goverment representaive said please release them as they have nothing against Hong Kong and were protesting something happening in Korea.
So if you want to break the law in Korea just say it was not because you do not like Korea but due to something happening at home, instant get out of jail free card.
The funniest quote for me on the news over the weekend was:
" We are very angry with the Hong Kong police, we agreed the route in advance with police.......pause...... we decided to take another route and they stopped us thats why we are angry, it is the Hong Kong polices fault" |
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fiveeagles

Joined: 19 May 2005 Location: Vancouver
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Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 6:07 am Post subject: |
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Not that I agree with violent protests, but I can't help but think this country is better off without free trade. Like I have posted before, this country has little poverty. Maybe, there are other factors, but I would assume free trade would greatly affect the discrepancy between the rich and the poor.
When you have countries as corrupt as Russia, China and India, I don't think subsidies are going to make a difference in alleviating world poverty.
For example, the Canadian Wheat board is supposedly one of the most corrupt organizations of the face of this earth.
Why will the WTO be any different?
Last edited by fiveeagles on Tue Dec 20, 2005 6:47 am; edited 1 time in total |
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edgellskiuk
Joined: 21 Jun 2004 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 6:34 am Post subject: |
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If Koreans feel that they need to grow their own rice and that is so much more healthy than any other rice, as I always seemed to be told, then they will pay more for local rice anyway no matter how much cheap foriegn rice they have to allow access to their market.
IMHO Sooner or later other countries are going to turn around and say "You are right you must protect your farmers and we must protect our auto workers/electronics companies, so sorry we can no longer import more than a token number of hyundais/samsung gadgets, we are sure you understand". |
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