Archive for the ‘Colonialism’ Category
China and the Left Conference: Why does the Progressive International contain the pro-Beijing Qiao Collective?
“I once informed leaders of the Progressive International—which rather awkwardly includes New Bloom (Note, Taiwan centred youth and political news) , Lausan (Note: Hong Kong left and labour rights) , and Qiao Collective alike—that as a basic rule of thumb, an international should not include members who wish death and destruction on other members as Qiao Collective does on Hong Kong and Taiwan, and that the Progressive International should consult with its existing members more knowledgeable about regional specificities before admitting new members who may have rather questionable politics. This rather basic suggestion has been completely ignored by the Progressive International leadership, who at the start of the venture did not seem to know of any groups in Asia. A list sent by the author of groups to possibly reach out to was ignored in favor of admitting the Qiao Collective. “
This Blog agrees 100% with the above.
Essential reading for all democratic socialists a careful, restrained, taking apart of the claims of the new pro-Chinese state left.
THE FOLLOWING TALK, which took place after an hour-long break for lunch, was a keynote by Michelle of the Qiao Collective.
Michelle sought to steer this observation toward claims of Chinese superiority, stating “We, in the imperial core, are the unfree ones,” claiming that the US’s failure to control COVID-19 was a form of genocide. Never mind that “genocide” has a specific meaning and does not simply refer to mass death, one need only note the contemporary ethnic cleansing of Uyghurs in Xinjiang through reeducation camps to wonder how Michelle’s moral indictment of US genocide is anything other than a rhetorical diversion tactic. Furthermore, while Michelle claimed that the west was projecting its own boogieman onto China, one need only note that Michelle and other Qiao Collective member’s views of China betray a pernicious form of diasporic projection onto China. At the same time, Michelle would not be the only speaker at the conference to cite the US’s failures in managing COVID-19 as an example of the superiority of the Chinese system.
MANICHAEISM WITH CHINESE CHARACTERISTICS: A LOOK BACK ON THE “CHINA AND THE LEFT” CONFERENCE
Surprising nobody, the event mostly consisted of uncritical apologia for the Chinese state—however, the mental gymnastics on display are worth remarking on. Ultimately, the depiction of China by the event’s speakers will still be persuasive to members of the western Left who know little about China and for whom China is little more than a faraway land to projected one’s romanticized hopes onto, something reflected in how little most speakers seemed to know about the world’s most populous nation. All this reflects the poverty of much of the western Left’s knowledge of anything outside of western contexts and their projection of readymade frameworks onto any and all non-western contexts—in which they seem unable to see beyond their own Euro-American-centric worldview, failing to grasp the rather basic idea that there can be any empire in the world outside of US empire.
The ‘Progressive’ International:
Members of the ‘progressive’ international include: (Progressive International Site).
The World Transformed, The Nation, Novara Media, Mediapart, Jacobin, Open Democracy (!) and yes, the Qiao Collective.
Another case, the one-time Trotskyist leader of the International Marxist Group, John Ross:
By contrast:
Afghan Demonstrators Outside the House of Commons as Parliament Debates Afghanistan Crisis.
Read More:
AWL statement: Disaster in Afghanistan
We do not pretend to be able to offer detailed advice on how to “manage” withdrawal. (Even if we did, it would be of little consequence: we are not advisers to the US military). We report the realities. Yes, the withdrawal, done as it has been done, is, as we quoted Malalai Joya saying about the Doha talks to prepare it, “a betrayal”. Yes, sending troops to save US embassy staff and a few selected Afghan allies, and leaving everyone else in Kabul to try their luck with the Taliban, is “a betrayal”. We can estimate that if Biden had gone for delay on Trump’s promise of withdrawal, rather than speeding it up, it would have been less bad, in the short term, anyway. That estimate does not oblige us to support the alternative of “forever war”. Our policy is for working-class and democratic action which cuts through the capitalist impasse-alternatives, not for detailed tweaking of those alternatives.
More comment:
Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain, Candidates in May Elections.
Red Brown Front.
The Workers Party of Britain was created by George Galloway and the pro-North Korea Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist) of Joti Brar. A red brown front they follow Galloways alliance with Nigel Farage on Brexit. They claim that “the establishment of the Workers Party, with the anti-imperialist and socialist politician George Galloway at its head, can provide inspiration to those who, like himself, find themselves politically homeless or desire to put their talents, creativity and energies at the service of the working class.”
This was the red-brown front in action during the 2019 European Elections.
This week in Scotland they are backing the Galloway-Tory front the Alliance for Unity.
Look who likes that!
Lionel Vida is standing in King’s Hedges for The Workers’ Party of Britain, which aims to give a voice to people who are politically homeless with desire to put their talents, creativity and energies at the service of the working class.
Mr Vida said on the party’s website: “The Workers Party of Britain is that politically active trade unionist, socialist, party which aims to do away with wage-slavery, and which anchors its complete faith in the organised, collective power, of a live, participatory democratic community; with full rights to recall any stagnant representatives. This, the community’s imperative mandate, is paramount.”
Nationally the Communist Party of Britain is said to be seriously worried at this competition from fellow pro-Brexit forces.
