White Hall outraged. Rand Mine supervisors walk off jobs. Rhodes, Kitchner, spinning in graves uncontrollably. Baden-Powell's entire staff assembles in joint protest. | Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa Subsaharan |
| China Pillages Africa Like Old Colonialists Says Jane Goodall |
| 2014-02-19 |
| [An Nahar] China is exploiting Africa's resources just like European colonizers did, with disastrous effects for the environment, acclaimed primatologist Jane Goodall has told AFP. On the eve of her 80th birthday, the fiery ...a single two-syllable word carrying connotations of both incoherence and viciousness. A fiery delivery implies an audience of rubes and yokels, preferably forming up into a mob... British wildlife crusader is whizzing across the world giving a series of lectures on the threats to our planet. And the rising world power's involvement on the continent especially raises alarms when it comes to her beloved chimpanzees and wildlife habitats. During the last decade China has been investing heavily in African natural resources, developing mines, oil wells and running related construction companies. Activists accuse Chinese firms of paying little attention to the environmental impact of their race for resources. "In Africa, China is merely doing what the colonialist did. They want raw materials for their economic growth, just as the colonialists were going into Africa and taking the natural resources, leaving people poorer," she told AFP in an interview in Johannesburg. The stakes for the environment may even be larger this time round, she warns. "China is bigger, and the technology has improved... It is a disaster." Other than massive investment in Africa's mines, China is also a big market for elephant tusks and rhino horn, which has driven poaching of these animals to alarming heights. But Goodall, who rose to fame through her ground-breaking research on chimpanzees in Tanzania, is optimistic. "I do believe China is changing," she said, citing as one example Beijing's recent destruction of illegal ivory stockpiles. "I think 10 years ago, even with international pressure, we would never have had an ivory crush. But they have," she added. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 I wonder how Venezuela is working out for the Chinese these days? The govt seems to have spent all their revenue these days. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2014-02-19 21:49 |
| #6 And they don't need locals for labor force either. Jane should have unionized the chimps when she had the chance. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2014-02-19 11:38 |
| #5 British wildlife crusader is whizzing across the world giving a series of lectures on the threats to our planet. Aren't these people (Goodall, Kerry, etc.) concerned about their carbon footprint's threat to the planet? |
| Posted by: Raj 2014-02-19 10:01 |
| #4 My limited sources tell me there is a wide cultural rift between the Chinese and indigenous folks. The industrious, results oriented Chinese insist on working. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-02-19 09:29 |
| #3 However, they're card carrying commies, so they'll get a free pass over from the usual suspects on US campuses who spend their class room time decrying American neo-colonialism and exploitation of non-white people of the world. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-02-19 09:23 |
| #2 White Hall outraged. Rand Mine supervisors walk off jobs. Rhodes, Kitchner, spinning in graves uncontrollably. Baden-Powell's entire staff assembles in joint protest. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-02-19 06:52 |
| #1 Yep. And they don't need locals for labor force either. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2014-02-19 05:59 |