Michael Roberts
In a recent email message, a good friend of mine residing in Sri Lanka, Richard Simon, contended that he was “particularly concerned to open Facebook this morning and find two posts sharing Thuppahi articles.” One of these references was to the item “Is Sri Lanka Creating a Dungeon for Itself?”
Richard then went on to assert that he “would like to assume that you had nothing to do with these. Or at worst, that you put them up in the hope of ‘provoking debate’. Unfortunately, it does not look like that. It looks as though you espouse those points of view. That is how the internet works; it has no truck with subtlety. These posts make you out to be a China-loving anti-democratic propagandist …”
In the debate that will now develop on this issue, it will be useful for readers to take note of recent items in Thuppahi which are pertinent to the issues at stake
SCOTT RITTER = https://thuppahis.com/2022/09/11/power-balancing-moves-in-asia-displacing-usa/#more-6588
FAIR DINKUM = https://thuppahis.com/2022/08/19/western-misrepresentations-of-chinas-actions-in-sri-lanka-continue/
HUGH WHITE = https://thuppahis.com/2022/07/25/australias-mindless-slide-towards-war-with-china-signalled-by-hugh-white/
JEFFREY SACHS = https://thuppahis.com/2022/08/24/the-wests-devious-demonization-of-russia-and-china/
NATASHA GOONERATNE = https://thuppahis.com/2022/10/04/an-exposure-human-rights-as-a-tool-of-us-intervention-in-sri-lanka/
Darini Rajasingham-Senanayake: “Deep Penetration off Sri Lanka and USA,” https://thuppahis.com/2022/08/16/deep-penetration-and-usa/#more-64968
ALSO …… https://thuppahis.com/2022/08/10/the-geopolitics-of-the-pacific-ocean-18-2022/
In addition, a Trotskyite friend from Peradeniya days has sent me this reference as pertinent to this topic: viz. …………………..
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/02/china-debt-trap-diplomacy/617953/
Well, earnest readers, it is not yet clear to me whether Richard has read and digested any of the essays referred to above. However, it is pertinent to note that in one post in his beloved Facebook, he noted that China’s belt-and-road policy was a proven failure. I have not kept the reference; but logged it in my mind with some amazement.
This post in Thuppahi is an invitation to him to present arguments in support of his thesis on China and his objections to the items I have presented on this topic.
So, there is a major debate to be addressed now by those interested and those with pertinent facts and/or theories in this field.
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